


Needles and Flowers

by KniteLyte



Category: Midnight Poppy Land
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 35,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27128492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KniteLyte/pseuds/KniteLyte
Summary: Poppy, done with small town life and a cheating ex, moves to Narin City to work at her best friends family flower shop. Almost immediately she notices a stranger covered in tattoos who walks by twice a day, a different dog on his heel each day. A flimsy flower display makes their first encounter interesting
Comments: 207
Kudos: 221





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> My first fanfic in a few years! All the other amazing MPL fanfictions inspired me (: All credit goes to Lilydusk!

Poppy pulled her hair back into a high pony tail it would be her first day of work at the flower shop, and first days always left her hair a bit disheveled. She had moved in the week prior, and while mostly everything was unpacked, there were still a few boxes that still lingered. She would get to them this weekend, she decided  
Oh that note, Poppy slipped into her tennis shoes, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door she made she to lock the deadbolts behind her, and she quickly went down the stairs.  
“Thank goodness I’m working with Erdene again,” Poppy thought to herself. She had worked with them off and on in her youth, when she would come visit during the summer and wanted to make some spare change. Erdene’s family was almost like her own.  
She found the flower shop with no problem, even though the building around the little shop had changed somewhat. To the left, it looked like a cute little book store! She would definitely have to stop by whenever she could on break or lunch. On the other side of the flower shop... a tattoo parlor? She was surprised. She remembered that building to be fairly small - it was a baby boutique before, she remembered - and she was surprised it could fit a whole tattoo parlor.  
The shop itself had barely changed. ‘Narin Flower Shop’ was hung proudly above the door, obviously just newly painted with white against a black background, and a cute bouquet with the flowers in vivid rainbow shades.  
Poppy hurried inside, the bell above the door dinging, announcing her arrival. Before she could call out a greeting, a shape lunged at her.  
“Erdene!” Poppy laughed, hugging her friend back. “We saw each other a few days ago!”  
“I know,” Erdene said, letting the shorter girl go. “I’m just so excited to be working with you again! It’s just like old times.”  
“I’m excited too, Dene!” Poppy agreed wholeheartedly. Already, she felt like this was the best decision she had made in quite some time.  
As they chit chatted and Erdene refreshed Poppy on how to sign in and the general opening procedures, they got to work. Poppy started preparing the water buckets for all the new flowers that would be arriving on the delivery truck today, and Erdene went through some orders that would have to be delivered that day. Erdene was the designer, and Poppy would be primarily cleaning, taking orders, getting payments, and doing some deliveries in the area.  
As she fell back into a routine that was familiar to her, Poppy felt a warmth in her chest. It was nice to be back in a place she knew, with people that she loved.  
Not even a month ago she had walked in on her now ex boyfriend cheating on her. Luckily, she had been saving up money for a nice birthday present for him, a trip to a little resort a few hours away, and that had become her down payment on an apartment. And when Erdene heard she was moving back, she instantly took down the ‘Now Hiring’ sign in the window.  
“Poppy!” Erdene called from the back. “Truck is here”  
“Coming!” Poppy brushes off her hands on her jeans and trotted to the back.  
After a few hours of processing flowers, taking orders, helping Dene make quick hand tie bouquets (the only bouquet Poppy was good at) and asked her to put them outside on display to hopefully catch the eyes of the couples roaming the city.  
Poppy took an arm full of all the simple, but pretty bouquets and carefully opened the door with her hip so not to crush the flowers.  
As she started placing them in the open spots in the display rack, Poppy mused how crazy it was that the rack was still standing! Erdene’s father had made it so many years ago, and it always creaked when it got too windy. It was amazing it didn’t just fall over-  
Erdene would tell her later that she was supposed to fill the left side first, since the right was getting a little unstable without some weight on the other side and middle  
The entire thing just folded in on itself. Poppy assumes that after years and years, holding buckets of water and being left out to the elements, it was bound to happen. But on her first day back?  
Poppy froze for a moment, soaked, since when the buckets hit the ground the water sloshed and splashed everywhere. Her shirt was mostly dry, but her pants and shoes made it seem she wadded through a river.  
“Ya okay?”  
Poppy looked up startled. She was still processing how she was going to go about cleaning the mess up, she didn’t even realize the man approaching her. He was huge - over six feet tall, with black hair pulled up into a pony tail. A cigarette hung from his lips, which she watched him inhale before taking it out and blowing out smoke. His eyes were an amazing shade of amber, and they were focused intensely on her. A dog - Poppy was never good at remembering dog breeds - was by his side, almost looking at Poppy the same way as the man holding the leash; ‘What are you doing?’  
“Oh, this?” Poppy sighed, putting her hands in her pockets. “Yeah, I meant to do that. Darn thing needed to be replaced, anyways.”  
“Weird way to do it,” the man mused, a smile slightly evident on his face. “Erdene coulda came over and asked me to get of that piece of shit for her.”  
“Not too late,” Poppy shrugged, and started picking up the bouquets before they got too damaged. She would just have to grab some regular buckets and put them out here. Would be quite as cute, but she would let Erdene figure that out.  
She noticed the man slipping the handle of the leash around the light pole, and he bent down and started helping Poppy pick up the flowers and buckets. Poppy noticed how both arms were covered in tattoos. Very intricate and detailed, Japanese style artwork. A bold, black symbol was on his neck, but she didn’t get as good of a look at it.  
Once everything was picked up, the man simply took his dog and continued walking. Poppy watched him for a moment, and then noticed how he pulled out a set of keys and opened the door to the tattoo parlor right next door. And then him and the dog disappeared inside.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy and Erdene finish up their first work day back together, and Poppy is becoming increasingly interested in their shop neighbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thanks everyone for all the kudos! I was not prepared! I’ll try and update this story as frequently as I can. I’m about to move, so this will be a great stress reliever. Sorry about any spelling mistakes - I’m writing this on my phone. Sorry this one is a bit short!

Lucky for Poppy, Erdene had a stash of clothes in her car. (“They’re clean, I swear”) But the only thing she had that could fit Poppy’s shorter and curvier frame was a skirt. It fell to her knees, and was grey. Poppy had a pair of flip flops in her own car, so at least she wouldn’t have to deal with wet feet.  
“Sorry about that,” Erdene said again, shoving the wet clothes in a baggie for Poppy. “I should’ve told you about it BEFORE you went out there.”  
“It’s okay Dene!” Poppy assured, smiling brightly. “Your, um, neighbor? He said he could’ve gotten rid of it for you.”  
At the mention, Erdene looked up at Poppy and quirked up an eyebrow. “Which neighbor?”  
Poppy tilted her head. “The tattoo shop guy. The one with long hair and tattoos down his arms?”  
“Oh, him,” She said, slightly rolling her eyes.   
“What do you mean?” Poppy inquired, poking her friend in the side. “He seemed okay. And he has a dog. Isn’t everyone with a dog a good person?”  
Erdene shrugged, smiling and shying away from her poking finger. “Nothing bad about him. Just gives off some weird vibes, ya know? And he has a different dog all the time. I think he owns like fifteen dogs!”  
Poppy had a flash of an image of the big man sleeping on a king sized bed with just a pile of dogs around him.  
“And he hardly speaks to us! He bought that studio four months ago. It’s just him, no other tattoo artists. I looked up his shop Facebook, And he’s actually really good.” Erdene shrugged, walking back over to the designers table.   
Poppy started to blow up some balloons, intending to make the front of the shop more inviting. 

The rest of the day passed quickly. They had several walk ins, and Poppy had to go drive quickly to a delivery. She was cutting some extra ribbon when Erdene announced it was closing time.   
Poppy wipes her brow with the back of her hand, looking at the clock. “Wow! I think that was the quickest eight hours I’ve ever worked!” The girls laughed, double checking to make sure any of the fresh arrangements were put in the fridge, making sure the helium canister was tightly screwed on, pulled the flowers that were outside, and turned off the lights. Poppy remembered the grab her wet clothes from under the counter, and the two walked out together.   
Erdene was locking the door, when Poppy noticed movement to her right. It was that guy - Poppy realized Erdene never told her his name - with the same dog from earlier by his side. He looked up, almost sensing eyes on him, and paused. Poppy smiled, and he managed a possible small smile before starting across the street.  
“Dene,” Poppy said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “What’s his name again?”  
Erdene looked up, saw to who Poppy was referring to, and her face spread to look exactly like that of a Cheshire Cat. “Tora.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uneventful day at the flower shop... till Poppy gets old meet some of Tora’s... “friends”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y’all enjoy (: 
> 
> All character’s belong to the lovely Lilydusk!

It had been a week of falling back into the same routine at the flower shop. Erdene’s parents would stop in a few times a week, their spare driver and designer Gil would help out on days he could come in, and it was everything like Poppy remembered. Though, back then, Gil had been here full time. But he got some corporate job, and was only at the shop for some extra change. Poppy liked him well enough, but he was also very reserved. She just focus on work a bit more whenever he was there.   
Poppy also noticed Tora. He did walk by the shop every morning, same time, with a different dog as his heels. Some small, some big. He would glance into the shop window briefly, but Poppy had yet to talk to him since her first day.   
“Earth to Poppy!” Erdene tugged at one of her French braids.   
“Dene!” Poppy started, straightening and turning to her friend. “I’m sorry, was I spacing out?”  
“You always do when Tora is walking by,” Erdene laughed. “You could always go talk to him, you know. He’s right next door.”  
“I-I just wanted to thank him for the other day!” Poppy assured, focusing back at the task of tying ribbon around some roses, for something at the local high school. Poppy lit up, smiling up at Erdene. “I’ll go grab everyone donuts on Monday, and drop some off for him!”  
“You think he’s the donut type?” Erdene said, obviously amused, leaning against the counter.   
“Who doesn’t love donuts?” Poppy inquired, finishing the last ribbon.   
“Just don’t get those pink ones covered in sprinkles, okay? I know you like sweets but those are a little much!” Erdene laughed as she went to go pick up the phone that started ringing. “Narin Flower Shop! Hi, yes, we can do a local delivery...”  
Poppy tuned her out, and started sweeping the shop. It was a fairly busy day. Poppy had to run a few deliveries, one being a funeral. Lucky for her, it wasn’t an open casket. She had to do a few of those, and while she never knew the family, she always cried on the drive back. Erdene’s mom hugged and assured her it was a very important job, and it was essential. Didn’t make it any easier for Poppy.   
It was the end of the day for them, and as Poppy pulled back up to the shop, Tora was already leaving his shop. A few guys were lingering around him, cigarettes dangling from all their mouths. Tora towered over them all, and he seemed uninterested in what they were laughing about.   
She hurried out, locking the delivery van behind her, and she could feel eyes on her before she looked up. She met Tora’s eyes again, and a split second after all of the guys looked her way too. She managed an awkward wave, and as she unlocked the door, she heard laughter.   
You know that moment when you hear people laugh, and you wonder if it was about you? Poppy felt herself blush, for whatever reason. She quickly hurried and confirmed the few deliveries on the computer, and grabbed her purse. Erdene had already left, but left the spare key on the counter. The other girl had been gushing about a hot date tonight, and since they were closed tomorrow, she wanted extra time to get ready. Poppy didn’t mind. She had locked up plenty of times.   
Double checking the blinds were closed and that the lights were off, Poppy headed out.   
The guys that were outside Tora’s shop were still there, but he wasn’t. She wondered why, since they all had seemed like they were friends. She didn’t linger on it too much, and turned to go to her car, when she heard a “Hey!”  
Poppy looked up, surprised, and the group was looking at her. Seeing her stop, one broke off and approached her. He had reddish auburn hair, and wild blue eyes... and the same neck tattoo Tora had.   
“Heya, how’re you, cutie?”  
Poppy looked at him cautiously, hand slowly going into her purse, making as if she was getting her car keys.   
“The name is Scharch. I didn’t realize the flower shop hired someone so...” His eyes trailed down her, and Poppy had to suppress a shiver. “Cute.”  
“Thank you, but I’m actually running late for an appointment.” Poppy said quickly. Her hand found what she was looking for in her purse, and she grabbed her car keys from where they actually were in her pocket and clicked the button to unlock the door.   
Scharch’s hand moved into her field of vision, holding the car door closed. When did he get so close? One last warning then...  
Unflinchingly, Poppy looked up into his face, and while the look in his eye belonged to someone in a horror film, Poppy said as clearly as she could, “I’m in a hurry. Can you please step back?”  
Later, Poppy would reward herself for not letting her voice shake. She had a feeling if Erdene was here she would’ve kicked this guy in between the legs and continued on with the rest of the day in peace.   
“Look, I’m just trying to... be...” Scharch’s eyes trailed up and over her head, and instantly he lifted his hand and stepped back. Poppy’s thumb was still over the button on her tazer, and when Scharch stepped back she opened her car door and ducked in, slamming it. After a second she locked it.   
Once she felt safe, she looked over to what had cause Scharch to stand down so quickly.   
Tora stood there, no dog in sight, but a nice red sports car. The drivers door was still open, and he looked like he had parked quickly and had just stepped out. And he was terrifying. The look on his face was aimed at Scharch, and Poppy didn’t understand how the man didn’t completely wilt under it.   
Tora closed his car door, and stalled to the guys, like some big cat. Poppy wasn’t sure if she wanted to see how it all played out, so she turned on her engine and quickly did a U-Turn, hurrying home.   
Once she was back in her apartment, she sank onto her couch. She had creepy guys hit on her before, but that guy Scharch was something else completely. She had her tazor, so she wasn’t completely defenseless, but the sickening aura pooling off that guy...   
She wondered why Tora had the same neck tattoo as him. Cause Tora didn’t give her those same vibes in the slightest.   
At least she was off tomorrow.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tree incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new little twist on the tree incident (: Hope everyone is still liking this story! Thank you for the comments and kudos. This story is just to help me get through the week while waiting for MPL new chapters. Can’t wait for the new one tonight!

Poppy wiped her face carefully with the back of her hand, smiling. She had broke out her paints and easel, and started on a new painting. While she never thought she was any good, it was always fun and it was a good way to get her mind off things. And after yesterday she needed just a little bit of a distraction.   
Though, now with Tora coming to her rescue twice, she had decided maybe a home bakes goodie would be more appropriate. Strawberry cupcakes? Yes, please.   
And that way she had lots, and made it seem like she didn’t cook them all just for Tora, she though sheepishly.   
Luckily, her apartment building was within walking distance of the grocers. The only thing she really needed to use her car for was to go to work.   
Poppy went and washed her hands off, and grabbed her grocery list pad. It had cute avocados all over it, and it was sectioned to ask about what things she needed from certain departments. She checked her pantry and fridge, and quickly wrote down all the things she needed. Eggs, she had flour, strawberries...  
She decided not to change out of her paint clothes - it was a five minute walk down the street, it was fine - and slipped on some flip flops.   
It was a gorgeous day in Narin city. It was the end of summer, and Poppy was excited about the cooler weather. The asphalt and buildings seemed to trap all the heat, and Poppy always found herself sweating. And snow! Oh man, was she excited to go ice skating, baking gingerbread men and women, putting up Christmas lights...  
She was so lost in thought she almost didn’t hear the little meow from the tree above her. She stopped, looking up.   
“Hey, are you stuck?” She asked the little cat, on a unsteady branch that it was clinging to. It meowed back, as if agreeing with her.   
“Kitty, I don’t even remember the last time I climbed a tree!” She said, kinda laughing in a humorless way. This was going to be fun. But she couldn’t just leave now. It obviously needed some help.   
“Hold on, I’m coming,” Poppy said, dropping her purse and starting the ascent. It was kinda like riding a bike, she thought. She got up into the branches rather easy, and she paused as she got to the branch the cat was on.   
“Come here, kitty kitty,” she tried coaxing it towards her, so she wouldn’t have to inch along the branch itself. It just skimpily looked back at her with wide eyes.   
“I feel like you just wanna see if I’ll come out there,” Poppy told the cat. It meowed back at her. Was that a yes?   
And so Poppy did what any sane person would do. She started scooting her way out on the branch. It was holding her weight, which was surprising, and she managed to reach out and grab the cat. She pulled it off the branch and hugged it to her chest. Instantly she felt claws go into her arm, as the cat cling to her.   
“Not so bad,” Poppy huffed, trying to start scooting back to the trunk. Her heart sank as she heard the creaking of wood, as if it was trying to hold on. Poppy looked back and watched the wood starting to splinter.   
“Cheese and crackers,” she planted, holding onto the cat as the branch gave out.   
Instead of hard ground, something that felt like a wall with arms caught her. It happened so quick she didn’t even have time to yell, so the fact that someone had even been able to catch her surprised Poppy.   
The cat had jumped out of Poppy’s arms upon impact, and scratched her forearm. If only she had a jacket on or something to protect her arms...  
Blinking, she looked up to whoever caught her.   
“Tora!” She exclaimed. The man was the last person she ever expected to see.   
“Do ya usually get yourself in trouble?” He replied, setting her down. There was no dog in sight, which was odd, cause Poppy had an imagine of him without ever being without one. She guessed he didn’t have one the other day when his acquaintance talked to her, but still.   
“The cat needed help! I couldn’t just leave it,” she explained.   
“Nice way of thankin’ ya, too,” he replied, gently grabbing her wrist and turning her arm over. Three claw marks, and fairly deep. Blood was starting to dribble down to her elbow.   
“Oh,” Poppy said, and almost felt light headed. She looked away and up to Tora, and he seemed instantly concerned.   
“Alright sweetheart, come on,” He shifted his fingers to her hand, and started leading her.   
“My purse,” Poppy said softly. Tora just grabbed it as they started away, but held on to it for her.   
“So where ya headed?” He said, checking both ways before having them cross.   
“Get some groceries,” Poppy swallowed.   
“Yeah? Whatcha gonna make?” They turned a corner. Poppy was making sure to look at his side profile. He was making sure she was beside him, and glancing down at her. He was trying to take her mind off the blood.   
“C-cupcakes,” she remembered.   
They were passing a hotdog stand, and a few people were ordering food. Tora easily reach around and grabbed some napkins, and stopped the two of them and pressed the napkins to the scratches.   
“What kind?” Tora asked, leading her over to a bench.   
“Strawberry,” Poppy said, feeling a little better now that she didn’t see blood. She had never been great with the sight of blood. She had fainted a few times before, from seeing friends get bloody noses or any sport injuries when she was in high school. Thankfully Tora had been there, she would’ve still been passed out under that tree.   
“Imma run into this drugstore real quick. Get gauze and some shit for ya. Are ya good to sit here?”  
Poppy nodded, feeling a bit better. Tora was gone for only five minutes, which later Poppy would giggle at the thought of him running around the store trying to find all the stuff he bought.   
He came back out with some gauze, a disinfectant, and some juice. Strawberry juice? How considerate of him. He made her sip the juice as he sprayed the disinfectant on the scratches, and carefully covered it with the bandages. All said and done, it was really nice.   
Poppy finished the juice, and felt so much better. She huffed, wiping her forehead. “Thank you so much. I don’t even know what I would’ve done if you weren’t there. The tree and now, as a matter of fact.”  
“Don’t mention it, sweetheart,” he assured, sitting back against the bench, reaching for a cigarette. He lit one, and was careful to blow the smoke away from Poppy. “Feelin’ better?”  
Poppy took a deep breath and sighed. “Yes, thank you.” She looked up at him. “Do you want me to pay you back for the stuff you just bought for me? I don’t have cash but I could Venmo you or something...”  
“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” Tora shrugged it off.   
“But you went out of your way! The least I could do is pay you back.” Poppy insisted, reaching for her purse.   
Tora reached out and gently stopped her hand. “Sweetheart, I make enough money. Ya don’t need to pay me back.”  
Poppy laughed. Tora tilted his head at her in question. “Those cupcakes I said I was making? I was actually gonna bake them and bring you over some as thanks. For last week and yesterday.”  
“Why?” His unique eyes looked oddly conflicted.   
“Well, you helped me pick up that rack on my first day. And then for yesterday when your friend was being a creep.” Poppy paused, realizing she called his friend a creep. “I’m sorry! I’m sure your friend is nice and all, just-“  
“Naw, he’s a fuckin’ creep,” Tora corrected her, crushing his cigarette. “He’s not my friend.”  
“Oh,” Poppy wasn’t sure what to say. So she did what she did best. She blurted things out. “Then why do you have the same tattoo on your necks?”


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, and the answer to how many dogs Tora seems to have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to comment and leave kudos (: there’s a chapter or two left before some more angst. Not sure how long this story will be, but I’m having a lot of fun writing it. If you couldn’t guess, I work in a flower shop and most of the things Poppy and Erdene are doing, I do for my day to day (: 
> 
> All characters belong to the amazing Lilydusk!

Tora’s eyes shifted to her, and Poppy could tell she hit a touchy subject. She had her suspicions, based on the fact of the two matching. She had heard of gangs, of course. But to actually know someone in one? Kind of a weird thought. And the more she ran into Tora, the more he seemed like a gentle giant.   
“What’s ya name again?” Tora simply changed the subject. Poppy was kinda relieved herself.   
“Poppylan, but everyone calls me Poppy.”  
“Puppy?”  
“Poppy!”  
Tora smiled at her, and she could see dimples. Oh boy. He was already handsome, but dimples? It was almost unfair. Poppy felt very inadequate next to him all of a sudden.   
“How long have ya worked at the flower shop, Bobby?”  
“Oh, I’ve known Erdene since we were young! I started helping with deliveries when I turned sixteen. And I recently just moved back, and they offered me a job full time. It’s nice to be back to doing something familiar.” Poppy blushed, not sure how much she should even tell him. She didn’t want to bore him with the details of her somewhat mundane life. Trying to turn it around, she asked him, “How long have you been a tattoo artist?”  
He shrugged. “Here and there for a few years. Just recently got enough money to buy the shop.”  
“Did you do your tattoos?” Poppy inquired.   
“No,” he kinda grinned. “That would be hard.”  
Poppy smiled. Made sense. She didn’t have any tattoos, but maybe one day. She wasn’t a fan of needles or blood - obviously - and she doubted she could sit through a session.   
“How’s ya arm?” Tora asked, reaching out to turn her arm again, but stopped halfway and put his hands in his pockets.   
“Oh! I forgot about that, actually,” Poppy said truthfully. There was a tiny little dot of the blood seeping through, but she was sure once she got home and took a shower, it would be fine. It was just that initial shock that really gets her. “I think it’ll be fine. I’ll wash it really well before going to bed.”  
“Maybe ya should go to a doctor,” Tora said, shrugging. “Damn cats.”  
“Oh, that reminds me!” Poppy sat up straighter. “Where’s your dog?”  
Poppy could’ve sworn she saw him blush. He glanced away. “Those are shelter dogs.”  
Poppy’s brows knitted. “What do you mean?”  
Tora sighed. “Growin’ up, I could never have one. So, I stop by the shelter and take one of the dogs for the day. Clients come into the studio, and they play with ‘ ‘em and shit. And sometimes they’ll adopt the dog.”  
Poppy stared at Tora in awe. This (possible) monster of a man was walking shelter dogs, trying to get them adopted? If she hadn’t already embarrassed herself enough in front of him she might’ve teared up.   
“Didn’t ya need to bake cupcakes or somethin’,” Tora said, pinching her cheek.   
She swatted his hand away, glancing at her phone. It was almost 5! She stood up, and her head spun.   
“Okay, sweetheart,” he grabbed her elbow gently, and led her back to the bench. “Did ya want me to walk ya back?”  
Poppy considered his offer. But she didn’t want to take up any more of his time. He was probably busy with stuff he actually needed to do.   
“It’s okay. Thank you, though,” she said, mustering up a smile. “I don’t want to keep you from anything you were doing.”  
Tora shrugged. “I was gonna grab takeout. Did ya wanna eat?”  
Before Poppy could stop it, a flush overwhelmed her face. Excuses fell out of her mouth, how she didn’t have the money at the moment to eat out, how he would wanna eat with his friends, how he had already wasted too much of his day with her...  
Tora stood up, and held his hand out to her. Standing, he was such a giant next to her. Poppy stopped, and just took his hand. He helped her up, and looked at her, seeming to make sure she would fall on her face. She released his hand, and re did her pony tail.   
“Where were you going to eat?” She inquired, making to grab her purse. Tora reaches out, grabbing her hand, and he took her purse.   
“Jesus, Bobby, what do you have in this thing?” Tora teased, holding up her purse.   
Poppy giggled. “Girl stuff, I guess?”  
“You could kill someone with this shit,” he continued.   
“So morbid.”  
Tora started leading them down the street. She was surprised he opted to carry her purse. She remembered a time that her hands were full, and she had asked Julri to grab her purse for her. He had made a big scene about how that’s girls shit, and he wasn’t gonna gonna hold it and look like a weirdo. And here was Tora, a practical stranger, helping her out more than her boyfriend of three years ever did.   
Poppy smiled.   
“We can go here,” Tora said, stopping. “It’s right next to the grocery store, so after we’re done it’s not a far walk for ya.”  
“Oh, you don’t have to change your lunch plans for me!” Poppy assured, patting his arm.   
“Stop actin’ like ya ruinin’ my day,” Tora said, pinching her cheek again. Poppy sighed, waving his hand off the hold on her cheek.   
“Fine,” Poppy relented. “But as thank you, I can make dinner for us sometime soon.”  
“Damn, Bobby, already trying to take innocence?” Tora chuckled, heading into the restaurant. Poppy felt her face turn beat red, and mouth agape. This man...!  
“That is NOT what I meant!” Poppy hurried after him, ears still scolding hot.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy’s curiosity leads her to confirm some suspicions, and some needed girl talk.

Dinner went well. Tora was actually very nice, and sweet. He talked little about himself, but that was okay. He could tell her when he was ready, if he ever wanted to. Though, Poppy couldn’t tell if he was actually flirting with her, or he just liked getting a ride out of her. Maybe both. Afterwards, he helped her quickly go through the grocery store. Since she only needed a few items, She only grabbed a little basket. Tora followed behind her as she grabbed everything, and she could see people look at them wearily and move out of the way.   
She glanced back at him, and he had his very nonchalant face on. She could tell why people would steer clear. But they didn’t know what she knew.   
After they checked out - Poppy already had her card at the ready cause like she suspected Tora tried to pay - and they walked outside.   
“I called ya a cab,” Tora said as they stepped out, said cab already waiting for her on the curb. Poppy didn’t even try arguing. She got her ingredients, and she was just gonna go home and make those cupcakes to give to him tomorrow. He closed the cab door for her, and she glanced out the window, and saw him watching the cab drive away. She sat back, smiling to herself.   
Making the cupcakes was easy, and as they baked, she made the icing. As she waited for her timer to go off, she grabbed her laptop and opened it up.   
“Narin crime syndicates...” she typed, curiosity getting the better of her. She scrolled past some conspiracy theory sites, absently sipping out of her water bottle. She switched the search to pictures, and almost immediately the image of a familiar symbol popped up.   
Poppy’s stomach dropped.   
She clicked on the website, and found some interesting info. It was one of the conspiracy sites, but at least it seemed to have the actual info for the symbol. It was related to the Balthuman Clan. It mostly rambled in about possible Clan wars, who was murdered and which clan it was thought to be.   
Poppy decided to look up just Balthuman, and that led to fewer details.   
“Yeah, cause they’re gonna advertise everything online, Pops,” she grumbled to herself. She closed the laptop, sighing. The whole thing left her with more questions than answers. How high up was a guy like Tora? She felt like having the symbol tattooed on your neck was obviously a huge commitment, or else why even bother?   
Her timer went off, and she pulled the cupcakes out of the oven. They smelled heavenly. She promised herself she would only eat one tonight. She had to make sure that she had enough for everyone tomorrow. Maybe the flower shop could offer baked goods for special events?   
Poppy considered the possibility as she went to her bathroom, undressing. She saved the bandage for last, and turned the water on to let it get hot. She gently unwrapped it, and was relieved to see that it wasn’t bad as she had initially thought. She would carefully wash it in the shower and use the disinfectant and rest of the gauze that Tora made sure to put in her purse.   
After her shower, she carefully French braided her hair. The sound of her phone ringing made her jump, and when she answered it was Erdene.   
“Pops!” The girl sounded excited. “I survived!”  
“You were supposed to text me this morning!” Poppy looked at the clock. Nine?? She was supposed to be going to bed soon. “Morning afters, remember?”  
Erdene laughed. “I know! But he just left. He came to my place. Poppy, he had the biggest di-“  
“Dene!” Poppy laughed. “Please, spare me the details!”  
“Girl, you need to get laid,” the other girl groaned. “Or else it’s gonna disappear.”  
“That’s not how that works, Erdene.”  
“Well, you’re gonna find out,” she sighed. “What about Tora though? Don’t you have the hots for him?” Poppy was so thankful Erdene wasn’t there to see her scalding face. “BIGGER and BETTER things, remember? Gotta move on from fuckface sooner rather than later. And I’m positive Tora’s definitely the bigger, in lots of areas-“  
“Please! Erdene!” At this point she would never be able to look at Tora again. “I promise I’m not still hung up on Julri-“  
“-fuckface-“  
“- And I just moved here! I can’t just seduce someone.”  
“Debatable, but I’ll let it go. For now.” She heard Erdene probably drop the phone, and waited till she spoke again. “We’re pretty dead tomorrow for arrangements, it seems. I just check the site and there’s only two orders sent in.”  
“We can practice on my bows, then,” Poppy said. “Maybe do some deep cleaning?”  
“I love how much you appreciate deep cleans,” Erdene laughed. “I think that’s why my parents love you. My mom is gonna be there tomorrow, do some inventory.”  
“Deanna? I’m so excited!” Poppy had yet to see the other woman. She was such a hippy kind of mom. Very relaxed, but always busy. She had several businesses, and now that Erdene had taken over the Narin Flower Shop, she had almost just passed it on. Erik, Erdene’s father, stopped in most often. Poppy has seen him a few times her first week. He had repainted a wall or two in the shop, and did a fresh coat of paint on the window sign. He was an older gentleman, and was ‘halfway retired,’ as he put it.   
“She’s been talking my ear off about seeing you again,” Erdene agreed.   
The two talked a bit more, as Poppy frosted the cupcakes. She made sure to pack them up carefully, and once that was all said and done, it was a little past ten. Poppy wished Erdene a goodnight, and crawled into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y’all didn’t catch it, I tried to think of names that would be combined to make Erdene, since it’s such a unique name. So, Erik + Deanna = Erdene haha.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quincey <3

Seeing Deanna again made Poppy feel like a teenager again. The woman had silver hair, the tips a similar lavender color to her daughters, and the kindest blue eyes. Deanna bunched Poppy up in a hug, and fretted over the girl.   
“Oh, we were so excited when we heard you coming home!” The older woman smiled. “Wish it was under better circumstances. Didn’t I tell you, Erdene? I never liked that boy. What was that accurate name you gave him? Fuckface?”  
Erdene laughed. “Yeah, that’s the one.”  
Poppy laughed. Erdene and her mother were very alike. Erdene a bit more fiesty, but she got that from her dad.   
They talked for a bit, until a customer came in. Poppy quickly helped them out with a quick gift for their mother, and decided on some dish gardens. Poppy added a little bow, and wrote a cute little note card to stick in it, and rang the customer up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tora walking past the window. She made sure to keep her eyes on the computer, as if she wasn’t waiting for him to show up this morning. She glanced down at the clock at the bottom of the screen. He was nearly an hour late.   
The customer rushed out, and Poppy went back to dusting off some of their vases on display as Deanna counted flowers, and picks, ribbons, moss... all that fun stuff.   
The bookstore keeper next door came over, and he introduced himself as Jacob. Nice guy, and him and Erdene seemed to get along fairly well. He had owned the book store for a few years now, so they had become friendly. He mentioned how they should all go out for drinks sometime. Which sounded like a lot of fun. Erdene and Poppy hadn’t been able to go out together, since Poppy was still getting all settled in. But they all made plans to go out the next weekend all together.   
Poppy finally felt like she had waited a long enough period of time, she fetched the smaller cupcake box out from under the counter. The larger one sat over by the designers desk, so Erdene could ‘keep them safe,’ as she said. Poppy could feel Erdene’s eyes on her, and when she looked up she waved knowingly.   
“I’ll be just a second, Dene!” Poppy said anyways, heading out the door.   
“Mhm,” Erdene hummed knowingly after her.   
“What?” Deanna asked, seeing that look on her daughters face. “What’s Poppy doing?”  
“Oh, she just has a crush on Tora next door,” Erdene explained.   
“Really?” Deanna blinked. “Does he like her?”  
“Um, she has the cutest butt, of course he does, Mom.” They both laughed, and gossiped on how long it would take for them to go on a date. 

Now that Poppy stood outside the door, she got nervous. The windows were all tinted dark, so she couldn’t see inside. She really hoped he didn’t have a client or something. But he also knew she was coming, sooo...  
Poppy straightened herself, and opened the door. Rock music played from the back room, but the volume was pretty low. The sound of voices were much more apparent.   
Walking in, Poppy glanced around. She hadn’t seen inside the tattoo studio before, and she was almost surprised. Japanese art scrolls hung on the walls, over a large leather couch. A glass coffee table was in front of it, on top of it laid a custom chess set. The pieces seemed like Vampires and Werewolves.   
There was a small counter, and beyond it on the wall was taped some outlines of possible tattoos. Poppy stepped forward to inspect them more closely. They were gorgeous, with lots of details and personality.   
“Bobby?”  
Poppy jumped, looking up. To the side, down a very short hall, where all the voices had been coming from, was a door, and there stood Tora.   
“T-Tora!” Poppy cleared her throat. “Hello! I brought you those cupcakes I told you about yesterday...”  
Tora pulled off the black gloves he had on, and walked towards her. She offered him the box, which he took. He peeked at them, and smiled slightly up at her.   
“I was scared ya passed out last night after takin’ the bandage off,” he teased, turning and walking into the room again. When he realized she wasn’t following, he turned back to look at her. “How is ya arm?”  
“It’s fine!” Poppy said, showing him just the regular bandaid she put on it. “It really wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”  
“Honey!” A voice came from behind Tora. “Who is it?”  
Tora rolled his eyes, turning back to whoever was in there. “Shut up. I thought I fuckin told ya to stop callin’ me that.”  
“Did you actually make a new friend?” A man stepped partway into view. He was shirtless, and she could see a started outline on his ribs. He was stunning. Blonde hair so fair it was borderline white, with a angular face. A faint scar ran down over one of his eyes, but otherwise no blemishes. On his chest was the same Balthuman symbol.   
“Oh! You did! Is it that girl that-“ Before the man could finish his sentence Tora grabbed his face and shoved him back into the room. If Poppy knew any better she could’ve sworn Tora’s cheekbones were dusted pink.   
“Sorry, I don’t wanna keep you from your client,” Poppy laughed awkwardly. “I just came to give you the cupcakes.”  
“He’s not my client,” Tora corrected, leaning on the door frame. “That’s just the fuckin’ Princess.”  
“Quincey!” Poppy laughed as his friend in turn corrected him.   
“You on lunch?” Tora asked, still holding the cupcake box in his hands.   
“No,” Poppy sighed. “I’ve just been cleaning. We aren’t very busy today. But you seem busy.”  
“Don’t mind me,” Quincey popped back up over Tora’s shoulder. “I needed a break. Tora usually makes me sit all the way through until his smoke breaks. You came at the perfect time! Miss...?”  
“Poppy Wilkes,” She introduces herself, smiling.   
“Quincey Balthuman,” he said in turn, trying to push around Tora to shake her hand. He didn’t budge.   
It was quite humorous. Poppy could tell from their interactions they had known each other for a long time. But while Tora was like that of a big jungle cat, Quincey seemed to be more of some exotic Bird of Paradise. Gorgeous, yet odd.   
“Well, I’ll leave you boys to it,” Poppy said, stepping back. “Nice meeting you, Quincey!”  
“Bye, darling!” Quincey waved, and Poppy flashed Tora one last hesitant smile before pushing the door open.   
Someone caught it on the outward swing.   
“Why, hello again,” Scharch smiled down at her, two other guys at his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just started typing chapter 13. It’s so hard to not just post chapters constantly for y’all. Thanks everyone so much for the nice comments and kudos


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scharch being creepy like usual. More girl talk. And finally a date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since you all requested, I decided to update this again (: next chapter up in the morning as well!

“Funny running into you here,” the red head said, stepping into the shop, forcing Poppy to step back.   
Poppy froze, but she forced her face into something of indifference. What was the thing her dad taught her? She had been bullied in school, and felt over all powerless. That’s probably why she had let Julri mistreat her for all those years. But she was a new woman. She moved to Narin, she got a new apartment, she was starting over.   
Meek Poppy wasn’t going to cut it anymore.   
“You look them in the eye and tell them in a serious voice what you want. And don’t falter. People can tell when you don’t mean it,” her father explained. She never had many opportunities to try it out, but now was a better time than never.   
“Excuse me, I need to get back to work,” she said carefully. She locked eyes the the creep.   
Looking back, she probably should’ve started that trick with someone a little less... up for a challenge.   
“If you look at me with eyes like that, I might not be able to stop myself.” There was that wild look in his eyes again. He seemed about to edge closer to her, and it took all Poppy had to not tremble.   
She felt a warmth at her back, and instantly felt a bit stronger. Scharch’s eyes drifted up, and she could feel the icy tension.   
“Fuck you all doin’ here?” Tora’s voice was deep behind her.   
“Got some Clan stuff to talk to ya about, Big Bro,” a guy behind Scharch said. He wore a bandana and had dreads. Poppy hadn’t seen him before. Then again, Poppy would be okay with never seeing any of them again.   
“The fuck are you?”   
“Yadori! We met at-“  
“Gentlemen!” Poppy saw Quincey appear at her right. He had a shirt back on, and instantly it seemed the other three back off. From Quincey? Not to assume anything, but... “I was escorting Miss Poppy here back to her work! Be good while I’m gone!”  
Quincey stayed at her shoulder as the men moved to the side. He followed her back to her shop, and insisted on coming in.   
“Is Tora gonna be okay?” Poppy breathed, wondering if they should’ve left.   
“You should be asking if they’ll be okay,” Quincey said, an odd smile on his face. And then he made an ‘oh!’ face and rushed over to little succulent dish garden. “Isn’t this the cutest? I love succulents. I have a perfect little spot for this.”  
Since Quincey was acting so nonchalant, Poppy assumed that everything was fine next door. Or, at least, Tora was fine, as Quincey seemed to put it.   
“What did you mean by the way?” Poppy asked as she rung Quincey up.   
He blinked at her, head tilted. “What do you mean?”  
“You asked if I was that girl,” Poppy tried to explain. “What girl? Did Tora mention me?”  
Quincey smiled awkwardly, scratching his cheek. “Sorry, you’re gonna have to ask Tora about that.”  
“Well, it was nice meeting you!” Poppy said honestly. Quincey seemed like a really nice guy, no matter how sporadic he was.   
“You, too, Miss Poppy,” Quincey beamed at her. And hugging his new little succulent garden, trotted our the door and back to Tora’s studio.   
“Now WHO was THAT?” Erdene said, almost instantly at Poppy’s shoulder. The shorter girl jumped.   
“How do you just appear places?” Poppy gasped. “That’s Quincey. Tora’s friend.”  
“Why do hot guys travel in packs,” Erdene seemed to think out loud. Poppy laughed at her friend, as if Erdene would ever have any trouble with guys. Poppy has never heard a story of the girl being rejected, or dumped.   
Erdene looked down at Poppy, and frowned. “Hey, Pops, you okay?”  
“Just fine,” Poppy sighed. She wasn’t, though. She really thought her dad’s advice would work. Maybe on someone that wasn’t in a crime syndicate? Yeah, probably. But if it wouldn’t work on those in the mafia, what was even the point?  
“Tora not like the cupcakes or something?” Erdene pushes further. The short girl seemed flustered, maybe even a bit shaken. While Tora was big, nothing like a quick kick to where the sun don’t shine would humble a man.   
“I ran into some of his... coworkers,” Poppy said lightly. “One is super creepy.”  
“You still have that tazor, don’t you?”   
“No, Dene, I decided to throw it away before I moved back to the big city.”  
“Haha, touché.”  
Luckily, a couple came in, wanting to talk about flowers for their wedding. Erdene discussed it with them as Poppy wrote down their info and what kind of flowers, how many, and when the wedding would be. The two seemed very head over heels for each other. And Poppy knew Erdene’s favorite thing was designing wedding bouquets and table settings.   
All four jumped when there was a loud knock on the window. It was Scharch and the two guys that were originally with him. He waved, winking, as they continued to walk by.   
“You ever see someone, and can immediately tell they’re trash?” Erdene said to no one in particular. The engaged couple blinked, and laughed awkwardly. Erdene laughed and continued on with their previous discussion.   
Soon after, she saw Tora leave. It was definitely a lot earlier than usual. Poppy tried to not feel disappointed- she had intended to go over there and check up on him.   
Not that it was her place to do so. She barely knew him, to be honest. But after yesterday, spending most of the day together... Poppy rubbed her face. She couldn’t get attached to the first handsome guy that gave her attention. That’s what happened the first time, and that didn’t end well. Then again, Tora was in no way like Julri. Exact opposites, really. 

The week went on like usual. Though Tora didn’t show up to his studio. It made Poppy extremely nervous, since the last time she heard from that other guy was that there was a job for him. What kind of job would Tora be being for the mafia?   
Wait. Mafia. Balthuman. Quincey Balthuman?  
“Poppy, you’re so dense sometimes,” she chided herself, face palming. Did Tora work for Quincey? She thought of the pair, and how they interacted, and how Quincey in general seemed. She didn’t see it as a boss lackey dynamic. Quincey’s family then? She shouldn’t assume anything. But what if Tora was missing? She couldn’t imagine anyone being able to lay a hand on the guy, but still.   
Erdene had left early, due to a wedding drop off, and Poppy was left to close up. She watered some of the plants, swept, and turned the lights off. She found the store key on her key ring, and locked up. As she turned to go to her car, low and behold: Quincey, locking Tora’s studio up himself.   
“Quincey!” Poppy blurted out before thinking.   
The blonde seemed to almost jump. “Miss Poppy! How are you?”  
“I’m fine,” Poppy said, hurrying over to the other man. “Where has Tora been?”  
“Oh, you know,” Quincey said, waving his hand. “He had some side work to do! It usually takes him a day or two to rest up before he comes back to his tattoo studio.”  
“Oh, okay,” Poppy sighed. At least she knew he was alright. A million questions were on the edge of her tongue that she wanted to ask Quincey, but she felt they would be very out of place, since this was the second time ever meeting the man. He seemed very nice, and well intentioned, but Poppy knew some lines.   
“Did you want his number?” Quincey asked, smiling. “I’m surprised you don’t have it yet.”  
“Would he be okay with you giving it to me?” Poppy asked, already pulling out her phone.   
“Definitely not, honey,” Quincey laughed. “Talking to a pretty girl would definitely lighten his mood up.”  
Poppy blushed, and got Tora’s number. She waited till she was home, and locked her doors behind her. She started the shower, and pondered on what to even text him. It seemed he was in a pretty sour mood, according to Quincey, so treading lightly would probably be best.   
‘It’s Poppy! From the flower shop. Quincey gave me your number, and I just wanted to check in on you!’  
Poppy hit the sent button. She was debating about asking if he needed anything, when the notification that it was read appeared. Poppy suppresses her surprised squeak when he had read it so fast.   
The typing bubble came up, and disappeared. And came back up. Poppy sighed, locking her phone and then hopping in the shower. The anticipation was killing her. She heard the ding, and unconsciously hurried up her shower routine. She turned the water off, and wrapped herself in a big fluffy towel.   
Now that she felt slightly more calm, she opened up the text.   
‘Wanna do dinner?’


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy finally gets some answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all haha. I haven’t written almost anything in two or three years (I have a two year old) and y’all have definitely encouraged me a lot. I didn’t expect this silly FF to get much attention at all. So thank you so much everyone <3
> 
> These amazing characters all belong to Lilydusk

Poppy was happy she had stocked up on some food basics the day before with her first paycheck from the flower shop. While her plan for dinner tonight didn’t quite have as much for two people as she would’ve liked, she figured Tora could have more of the meat, and she would just make more rice.   
She just put the rice on to cook as she heard a knocking on her door. Poppy walked as calmly as she could, and I did both locks.   
Tora took up her entire doorway. His hair was pulled back into his usual half pony tail, and he wore a shirt with a dinosaur on it, with black shorts.   
“Surprise,” Tora said, smiling, and held out a little grocery bag.   
“I thought I was making dinner!” Poppy laughed, and took the baggie.   
“It’s a dessert,” Tora added, closing the door behind him. She heard him put her locks in place, and she had an imagine if someone breaking in and seeing Tora. The man was definitely more useful than those locks, that was for sure.   
“I just put the rice on! So give it about twenty minutes, and we should be good to eat,” Poppy said turning into the kitchen. She peeked into the box and found a little strawberry short cake. She was already drooling.   
“Ya paint this?” She heard Tora call from the other room.   
She stirred the pot of beef soup, and put it on low, and went out to see which painting Tora was talking about.   
It was almost comical to see Tora in her apartment. He was just so big compared to almost everyone she knew, and she herself didn’t need a lot of space. So watching him maneuver around her place was going to be amusing.   
He was looking at the last painting she had been working on. It had a background of greens and browns, and she had just lightly sketched an outline of a big cat. She blushed at the thought of her inspiration.   
“Yeah, I just started that one the other day,” Poppy confirmed.   
“I didn’t know ya painted,” Tora hummed, turning to look at Poppy.   
“You’re probably better,” Poppy teased. He had to be. He put permanent ink on people for a living. “I would love to see your sketch book sometime.”  
“Sure, it’s lots of big b-“ he raised both hands, making the general notion of squeezing breasts.   
“Tora!!” Poppy huffed, cause Tora to chuckle.   
“Big bones and skulls. Why is ya mind in the gutter?” Tora seemed very happy with himself to get such a reaction out of her.   
“And here I was gonna share my portion of dinner with you,” Poppy huffed playfully, retreating into the kitchen. She heard Tora follow, and lean back against her counter, watching as she stirred the pot quickly.   
“I got worried when you didn’t show up for work,” Poppy blurted out. She turned to find Tora with his arms crossed, a surprised yet serious look on his face. “I... I was scared that you got in trouble with those... coworkers of yours.”  
That he smiled softly at. “Them? Those fuckers couldn’t lay a hand on me if they tried. Ya don’t need to worry ‘bout them.”  
Poppy smiled. “I’m glad. It was lucky I ran into Quincey today. Who is he?”  
“A fuckin’ princess,” Tora said simply.   
“His last name,” Poppy said carefully. “It’s Balthuman?”  
There was quiet behind her. She had turned back to the stove top, and was scared to turn around. She didn’t invite him over to upset him. But now that she had made the connection, her curiosity was killing her. And that thing he mentioned when they first met. Was she what girl?  
“Yeah, Quinceton Balthuman,” Tora finally said in a low voice behind her. “I’m a part time body guard, of sorts.”  
“Of sorts,” repeated Poppy. “And what sorts would that be?”  
“Look, Poppy.” His tone made her turn around, and at some point he had stepped closer to her. How y’all was this man again? “I don’t wanna lie to ya. There are some things about me that I don’t wanna expose you to.”  
“I get it,” Poppy said, feeling almost rejected. They had just met, after all. Get it together, Poppy.   
“... but I am part of a syndicate. Seems like ya already put that together.”  
Poppy hummed, nodding. No use beating around that bush, at least. At least he seemed to be being honest when he could. Not treating her like she was stupid. A lot of people did that.   
She turned the rice off, and shooed Tora out of the kitchen as she finished everything up. She quickly shaped their rice, and cut the seaweed. She took the needed time to get her thoughts together. Needed to move past the hard stuff, now. She had a feeling she had gotten all the answers to Tora’s other profession as she was gonna get for the time being.   
She brought the test with their food out, and she saw Tora inspecting her apartment. Like her ‘novels’ with the spines turned in. There was a knowing smirk on his face, but he didn’t comment.   
“Here you go! Next time I’ll cook something a bit heartier. I wasn’t expecting to be feeding a bodyguard.” She placed the plate and bowl on Tora’s side, and sat down on her side, legs crossed.   
“It’s a tiger,” Tora said with surprise.   
“I figured you liked tigers,” Poppy teased, digging into her own plate.   
Poppy saw Tora snap a picture, and when she inquired what he was doing, he informed her he was sending it to his friends. Poppy relented since he said it was only to Quincey and another man she hadn’t met.   
“You like it that much?” Poppy said, taking a bite of her own rice.   
“It’s cute as shit,” Tora said, with such a serious face Poppy couldn’t help but laugh.   
“Oh! By the way,” Poppy said as her giggles subsided. “What was Quincey talking about the other day? He was asking about if I was the girl that..?”  
Tora’s chopsticks faltered halfway to his mouth, and he rolled his eyes. “Are ya just gonna poke at me all night?”  
“Yup!” Poppy confirmed without remorse.   
“Every time ya ask a question I’m taking more of ya beef.”  
“That’s fine. I need to go on a diet anyways.”  
Tora stopped, looking at her seriously. “The fuck? Why?”  
Poppy shrugged, unsteady now the conversation had turned on her. “Just wanted to get rid of a few pounds. Someone said I could probably do go lose some weight...”   
Poppy swore she saw the muscle in Tora’s jaw working. “You’re perfect the way you are. You don’t need to diet.”  
Poppy smiled, touched. Was this guy really in an illegal syndicate? She was starting to believe it less and less. She pointed her chopsticks at the man. “Don’t change the subject! What was Quincey talking about?”  
“Damn, thought I could get away with it. Aren’t hamsters supposed to have a short memory or some shit?”  
“I’m not a hamster!”  
Tora pinched her cheeks. “Yes, ya are.”  
“Tora!”   
He released her, and looked down, pink dusting his cheeks. “The first time I saw ya? It wasn’t the other week.”  
Poppy tilted her head. “What do you mean?”  
“First time I saw ya... was about three years ago.”


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Tora first saw Poppy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I didn’t realize how bad of a cliff hanger I left y’all on haha.

Tora lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. He was in his clan uniform, and other members mingled about. A few of his usual boys stood close by, but still at a distance. He saw Quincey standing by his father, Vincent, who was by the parents of... of the kid.   
Tora blew the smoke out, looking up. It was a nice day, a bit cloudy, but not threat of rain. And the sun was still shining. It was almost too hot, being dressed up at they all were. But everyone was smart enough to not complain.   
Soon enough, everyone started inside. Tora watched them all enter, and he threw down his cigarette butt and crush it under his heel. He ran his fingers back through his hair, re doing his half pony tail.   
Funerals always made him nervous. He could easily picture himself, or his brother, as being the one in the coffin. And this kid was so young... it was impossible for Tora not to connect the similarities.   
“Come on, big bro,” Goliath said, appearing at his side. “Let’s get this over with.”  
“Have some respect, will ya,” Tora growled, grabbing his brothers shoulder and pushing him towards the door. “Fuckin’...”  
“No cursing in a church.”  
It was Goliath’s lucky day. Tora would’ve pounded him into a pulp right then and there if they had been anywhere else.   
At the front, lay the open casket. Tora fuckin hated when they did open caskets. Especially with members of the Balthuman syndicate... the bodies were never in the best condition.   
Tora didn’t know the kid personally. He hadn’t even gotten his clan symbol yet, but they had made an appointment for Tora to do it next week. Kid’s name was Ryder. Was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting a little too drunk and bragging about running with the Balthuman’s.   
Some rival gang members had cornered him out back and beat him to death. He was honestly surprised that the parents had done an open casket. Even from here Tora could tell the kid’s nose wasn’t even in the correct shape.   
A flash of yellow caught his eye.   
Everyone was still finding seats, giving condolences, so the funeral hadn’t started yet.   
The girl was wearing a yellow dress, seeming out of breath. In her hands was a huge casket spray. She talked to who Tora assumed was the mortician, and the latter motioned to the casket hurriedly. The girl seemed to steel herself, and walked briskly yet calmly over to the casket. Quickly, she placed the flowers in place, without looking anywhere else, and hurried out the door she came in.   
Tora was looking at the door long after she had left.   
In the spring, when the rainy days seemed never ending? And then, finally, you get that sunny day. Maybe not on the day you needed it, but it was there nonetheless.   
The funeral commenced. It was just as the others he had been to. When it was time to go up to the casket, he was on Goliath’s heels. He saw Quincey crying silently, and Tora realized he was probably happy to sit next to his pain in the ass brother.   
Tora glanced down at the kid, and saw himself instead. How many times had it been, that he was almost the one in the coffin? How many times did he come to his brother’s rescue, and dragged him to the Clan doctor before he had drowned in his own blood?   
Way too many to count.   
And then Tora looked at the flowers.   
Tora never had much interest for flowers. He couldn’t even name any of them. But he did find them stunning. 

Once the funeral ended, everyone headed outside. Tora waited for Quincey, as they had plans for after this. ‘A spa day was needed, after today,’ as the Princess put it.   
Taking a drag off his cigarette, he noticed the man the girl had talked to briefly. The one he assumed was the mortician.   
“Hey!” Tora said, and the man stopped, from where he had walked around to the drivers seat. “Who was the girl who brought the flowers?”  
“I don’t remember their names,” the man said, looking confused as to why Tora would want to know, or even care.   
“Ya don’t know where she works?”  
“That one I believe is from the Narin Flower Shop,” the man said, and ducked into the car before Tora could ask him anymore questions.   
Tires was looking up the said flower shop when Quincey came over. He had tears in his eyes, but neither of them said anything. He knew Quincey had met the Ryder kid on some occasions. And if he didn’t know the kid he would’ve still been crying.   
“You drive?” Quincey sniffed.   
“Who fuckin’ else would,” Tora said, blowing smoke, and crushed his cigarette butt out under his heel. He saw his brother going off with Gyu, both looking as mischievous as always. They needed to calm down before it bit them in the ass.   
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to funerals,” Quincey sighed as they got in the car. You would never know this kid was a Mafia Lord’s kid. He liked Quincey well enough. They had grown up together, more or less in the same household. Quincey may have been more like a brother than his actual brother. And Tora definitely played the part of the grouchy older brother.   
“Just don’t think about it,” Tora said, revving the car and pulling out, taking a sharp turn.   
“Wait, the spa is the other way!”  
“I gotta go check somethin’.”   
Quincey huffed in the passenger seat, looking out the window. Tora had looked up the address, and found it wasn’t too far away from where they were.   
When Tora pulled up, Quincey straightened. “A flower shop? You got a date or something, honey?”  
“Mind ya fuckin’ business,” Tora said, making to get out.   
But stopped.   
What the fuck was he planin’ to do? Go in and ask her out? Why would she even talk to some scary looking stranger? Tell her he saw her deliver flowers to some funeral?   
Tora let go of the handle, and lit a cigarette, debating.   
“Smoking is terrible for your lungs, you know,” Quincey sighed, rolling down his window. “And second hand smoke! You’ll be the death of me one day, Tora.”  
“You can get out,” Tora said off handedly.   
“Then you’ll drive off again and I’ll have to call a cab!” Quincey complained, fake coughing. Tora could feel the Princess’s burning stare. “You could go in and thank them for that gorgeous casket spray, maybe give them an extra tip.”  
Tora almost smiled. “Ya know, you’re not as dumb as ya look, Quince.”  
“I take offense to that!” He called after Tora as the man got out of the car.   
Tora knew he had cash in his wallet, and Quincey’s excuse at least made it less weird.   
Stepping into the shop, he saw only two girls. An older woman and a girl who appeared to be her daughter. There seemed to be an impatient customer standing off, looking at balloons and stuffed animals.   
The girls were both making arrangements, and talking. The older woman waved, calling out she would help him in just a minute. Tora nodded back. It was a nice little shop. Smelled great. He started to wonder around, thinking about how Quincey should’ve been in there to make him seem less out of place. If that was possible.   
“I just feel bad mom.” Tora heard the daughter saying. “It was her last day and of course she had to go home crying. I knew I should’ve taken that spray. She’s so sensitive to that stuff.”  
“We didn’t know it was going to be an open casket, dear,” the mom was saying. “Poppy knows it’s an important job. She made sure it looked beautiful for the family. She’ll be okay.”  
Tora left a hundred dollar bill on the counter as he walked out. 

After that, life had become crazy for Tora. Clan business got messy. The day after the funeral, Vincent asked Tora to get back at the clan who had killed the kid. It had been the first hit job he had done in awhile. And from there it started a gang war. The Balthuman’s came out on top, as expected. But left a lot more emotional scars on the lot.   
Some people, like some fuck named Scharch, was sick motherfucker. Tora heard rumors about him, what he did to some rival clan members. He was trying to climb up the ladder, very quickly, and seemed like he wanted Tora’s spot.   
He could fuckin’ have it. Vincent would never let that happen, though.   
Or so he thought.   
After the war was said and done, Vincent called Tora in to have dinner.   
He was surprised to see Quincey there when he arrived.   
“So, Quinceton has been telling me you want to open up a tattoo parlor,” Vincent started. Tora tensed. The crime lord was chewing his steak agonizingly slow, and wiped his mouth before picking up his whiskey on the rocks and sitting back.   
“Tora, my boy, you’ve helped me a lot over the years. You’re like a son to me.” A son who you’d lock up in a cage? “I’ve thought about it, and I think you should do that. You deserve some... rest.”  
Tora didn’t relax. He knew everything like this came at a cost, and he wasn’t sure if it would be worth the trouble. Quincey was eating his food unbothered, so he either didn’t realize what he had done, or if it wasn’t going to be as bad as Tora was assuming.   
“Like always, I would appreciate you tattooing the boys, when the time comes,” Vincent continued. “And... still do jobs for me. I won’t make you do any grunt work. But any jobs that need a little added... social touch to them, I’ll call you. Is that a deal?”  
It was a lot more than Tora had ever expected. He was sure the conditions would change, over time, but for the time being, he was willing to play along.   
To his surprise, Quincey had already found him a place. It was a little dingy, but nothing that Tora couldn’t make his boys come out and help him clean the place up.   
... And it was right next to the Narin Flower Shop.   
Quincey played as if he had no idea, as he kept washing the windows.   
It didn’t matter much. He thought about that girl every once in awhile. A little beam of light before his life had gone to shit in a hand basket. Goliath was missing, but he would disappear every once in awhile. It was going on a month, and deep down Tora was worried about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and a weird phone call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe to clear up why I decided on when Tora saw her: a clan death of a young kid I feel like would have an impact on Tora. Since him and his brother had spent their entire lives involved with gangs/clans, it could’ve easily been them in the coffin, and it still could at any time. So seeing Poppy at such a dark time, and Tora finding her attractive (a man who doesn’t bother with many relations AT ALL. Pretty much only Quincey, and they’re just friends) I could see him wanting to meet her to see why she was just such a ray of sunshine. I know this is the 3rd chapter I posted today, but like I said, y’all are awesome (: Hope y’all are ready for a n g s t now haha

They had both finished eating long before Tora finished his story. Poppy sat, eyes wide, looking at Tora. Pink still dusted the top of his cheek bones, and after a moment he looked over at Poppy. He seemed cautious, as if he thought Poppy would run away from him.   
“I... I remember that funeral,” Poppy started, picking at a lose string on her pants. “I went home early cause I was crying for a few hours afterwards.”  
“Yeah, I bet,” Tora agreed. “Not the prettiest.”  
“But why even try and meet me?” Poppy asked, tilting her head. “I’m not even average pretty. And you didn’t even talk to me! What if I wasn’t a nice person.”  
Tora looked up at her, meeting her gaze. She suddenly felt shy under those amber eyes. “I couldn’t even consider you bein’ a bitch or something.”  
“I can be mean,” Poppy teased lightly. “One time, I didn’t even put the grocery cart into the stall. I was in such a hurry I put it on the curb.”  
“I guess I was wrong about you,” Tora chuckled, making to grab her cheek again, but instead rested his hand on her head and ruffled her hair.   
“And Bobby?” Poppy looked back up at him when she finally got his hand off her head, and pushed her hair back into place. He had a soft smile. “You are pretty. Very... cute.”  
Poppy turned ten different shades of red. While his flirting was one thing, coming right out and saying that, with that look on his face.   
Tears started pooling in her eyes.   
Tora’s face went blank, and then into a small panic. “Wait! Why would that make ya cry?”  
“Thank you,” Poppy said, laughing, wiping her tears away. “I’m sorry. I’m such a cry baby.” Poppy started to gather up the plates, as if to distract both of them from her random tears, and Tora lightly took the plates from her.   
Poppy watched Tora start dishes, and after trying to fight him about just leaving them in the sink, he shooed her out of the kitchen.   
Laughing, she went back into the living room. She grabbed her laptop, and decided to turn some music on. She wasn’t sure what Tora likes, so she just hit shuffle. There was a notification from her weather app, reminding her that it was supposed to be a full moon.   
Excitedly, she opened up the doors out on to her little deck. The moon was indeed full, and the sky was clear. It was gorgeous. Her first full moon in Narin city for three years. She missed it.   
Three years. A lot had happened in three years. Her self esteem took just a beating that a man calling her cute made her cry. Awful. But then again, if Tora called any girl cute, they’d cry. It was like a dream come true.   
And how Tora had seen her so long ago. She remembered being flustered, since she had been scheduled to deliver the casket spray before anyone was even in the church. But due to traffic, she had instead came in when people were already there. If she hadn’t been so embarrassed, she probably would’ve seen Tora.   
What a crazy thought.   
And how he thought of her? A small light in his deep dark world. That made her sad for him. How awful his childhood was, and how unhappy he seemed to be in the Clan. What was she even to do about that? Was there anything she could do? Probably not. She was just some girl who worked at a flower shop. There was nothing she could do to any mafia.   
“Careful. That railing looks old.”   
He startled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at him. He had to duck out of the door way. She smiled in amusement.   
“It’s not that old!” Poppy said. As if testing it himself, Tora leaned back on it, and shook his head.   
“I don’t want ya falling,” Tora said, reaching for her hand and tugging her lightly away from it.   
“You couldn’t save me?”  
“I wouldn’t put that much trust in my speed to save your ass,” Tora smiled.   
Why was this man some Greek god in her home? Against the back drop of Narin city and a full moon, Poppy had to do everything she could to not blush. She looked down at their joined hands instead, and interlaced their fingers together.   
“Thanks for telling me,” Poppy said. “Since Quincey said that I’ve been dying to know what he meant.”  
“It’s not very exciting,” Tora shrugged.   
“It almost makes me mad, you know?” Poppy admitted. “I could’ve stayed here, and not moved out to be closer to my jerkwad of an ex. Could’ve been happy working at the flower shop, and I could’ve met you a lot sooner...” She trailed off. No use thinking about what could’ve been. It’s all said and done.   
“At least we got now,” Tora said softly.   
Poppy smiled. “That’s true.”  
“You’re not scared of some big scary thug hanging around?” Tora jokes, pulling her a little closer. How were his legs so long? Even leaning against the railing, he just seemed so massive.   
“I’m starting to not believe you when you say you’re some thug,” Poppy laughed. “You’re actually just a big teddy bear.”  
“Damn. I thought the tattoos would really convince ya.”  
Poppy laughed, and looked back up to him. When did they get so close? Some wind kicked up, blowing some of his hair into his face. Poppy immediately reached up with her free hand and tucked it back to where it was originally. His hair was silky soft. Poppy noticed him watching her, eyes intense.   
“Bobby...”  
Before she lost her courage, Poppy reached up with both hands and grabbed his shirt. This would be easier if he was at least a few inches shorter, and she was at least taller.   
Their mouths connected, and she could almost feel Tora’s body melt. She felt his hands lay lightly on her waist, as if cautious she was going to push him away. Poppy broke the kiss after a moment, and Tora surprised her by darting forward to kiss her lightly again.   
She couldn’t tell if it was the close proximity, or herself blushing, but she was almost uncomfortably warm. Almost. She was leaning against the big man, and frankly, she never wanted to stop.   
Tora opened his mouth to say something, and they both jumped when his cell phone went off. Poppy made to straighten off of him so he could grab it, but the hand on her waist stopped her, he pulled her firmly back against him. He reached into his back pocket, and silence the ringer and glanced at the phone screen.   
And froze. Poppy could feel his body tense against hers.   
“Do.. do you need to get that?” Poppy said after three rings, and Tora staring at the screen. Who was it? His boss? Was it time for another... job?  
“Fuck me. Sorry Bobby. I... I gotta take this.” Tora straightened, and Poppy walked back inside to give him some privacy. Though she did catch his greeting.   
“The fuck you’ve been, Goliath?”  
Goliath? Wasn’t that his little brother?   
Poppy reach up, and touched her lips. She hadn’t been kissed like that since... actually, she had never been kissed like that. He must’ve chewed some gum or something before coming over, cause she didn’t taste any cigarette. Was he hoping this was gonna happen?   
Poppy blushed.   
She guess she did invite a man over for dinner at her apartment. He probably thought she was gonna try and seduce him. Poppy wouldn’t even know how to start. Her and Julri’s relationship was very rarely physical, and he had been her first real boyfriend. She doubted any of her sultry books would be the way to go for a man like Tora. Maybe she could ask Erdene? Whenever she was ready for that. If Tora even wanted to do that.   
She heard the balcony door close behind her, and Tora stood there, looking troubled.   
“I’m sorry, Poppy,” he started, running his fingers through his hair. “I gotta-“  
There was frantic knocking on her door. Poppy looked at Tora, confused. He stalked to her door, silent. She ran to her purse, and pulled her tazor out. She doubted she would need it, due to Tora being here, but it made her feel safer.   
Tora looked out the peephole and cussed. He looked back at Poppy, almost concerned like, and opened the door.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who was at the door?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to try and behave an not post a bunch of chapters today haha. I try and give myself a few chapters just in case I need to go back and change some things. But, I’m currently writing chapter sixteen! Got lots of ideas coming up.
> 
> Of course all characters belong to Lilydusk

A man stood in Poppy’s doorway. His hair was blue, and he had the same startling amber eyes as Tora did. He was a little shorter than Tora, and his shirt was covered with blood, and some blood was coming out of his nose and mouth.  
“Big bro, I-“  
Tora grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him inside, closing the door and locking all the bolts he could. And as soon as he did he slammed the guy back up against it.  
“What the fuck are ya doing, Goliath?”  
The man winced, gripping his side. Tora shook him when he didn’t answer right away.  
“Fuck - I followed ya. You moved outta your old place, and I saw your car come here. I thought this was your new place!”  
Tora was vibrating with rage. Poppy could see his shoulders shaking.  
“Tora?” Poppy stepped closer, resting her fingers on his back. “Tora? He’s hurt. Do you want me to call someone? Do you wanna put him in the shower?”  
Goliath winced again, and coughed. Tora didn’t move for another minute, and Poppy was about to ask again, when the man released his brother. Goliath dropped down the two inches, coughing.  
“Come here,” Poppy said, rushing to her bathroom. She turned the hot water on, and managed to find a black towel. Luckily, Goliath didn’t get blood anywhere. Tora stalked his younger brother to the bathroom, and Poppy made space for them and went and got her first aide kit. She heard some painful cries, and hoped that Tora wasn’t still roughing his brother up.  
She peeked around Tora’s frame, and saw he was trying to take his shirt off. From the little bit exposed of his side, it was a mess of bruises.  
“Got scissors?” Tora asked, almost calmly.  
“Yeah, in here.” Poppy opened up the first aid kit and found a small scissors. Tora grabbed Goliath’s shoulder, and turned him around. Tora cut the back of his shirt in half, and tugged it none too gently off his brother.  
Poppy took her cue to turn around as Goliath got the rest of his clothes off. She went to her room, wondering if she even had spare clothes that could fit the injured man. He was smaller than his brother, in muscle and height, but Poppy was shorter than everyone.  
She started shuffling through her clothes, looking for something that could work. She ended up finding a pair of sweats, and one of her old oversized sweatshirts with a rainbow on it. Better than being naked or covered in blood.  
When she walked out, she saw Tora on her balcony, door cracked, smoking a cigarette. She could see the tension in his shoulders from here. She stopped, debating if she should go out to him or let him be for the time being.  
She heard the shower turn off, and a thud. She rushed over, knocking.  
“G-Goliath? You okay?” The man said something she didn’t catch. “I’m going to come in. Do you have the towel on?” She heard raspy yeah, so she opened the door slowly.  
Goliath was sitting on her closed toilet, leaning back into the small corner. The shower didn’t exactly help. It washed the blood off, but now that she wasn’t worried about Tora ripping his brother apart, she could see how worse for wear he was.  
His right side was a painting of black and purple. His right hand was definitely broken, probably in multiple spots, and it almost made Poppy nauseated looking at it. His lip was split, and she could see the double black eyes forming. He has scrapes, probably from falling, on his knees and left side.  
“Here,” Poppy said, realizing she was staring. She opened the first aid kit. She had put the spray that Tora had gotten when she had gotten hurt in there, and she took it out. “I’m gonna spray those scrapes, okay?”  
Goliath nodded slowly. He hissed and cussed, giving his brother a run for his money, but didn’t pull away from Poppy. She could use some bigger bandaids for the scrapes. She didn’t touch his right side or his hand. Spraying a cotton ball, she used that to press to his split lip.  
“Thought ya didn’t like blood.” Tora’s voice said from the doorway.  
“When it’s not my own blood I’m better with it,” Poppy said matter of factly. “And they’re clean. It’s not so bad.”  
She looked up to see Tora looked tired. So tired.  
“Tora? He might have some broken ribs. He’s gonna need to see a doctor.”  
Tora looked over Poppy’s head, at his brother, and then back to Poppy. “I already called Quince. He’s callin a doctor.”  
“You called the Balthuman?” Goliath started, and erupted in coughs again.  
“Shut the fuck up, before I throw ya back outside,” Tora growled.  
“Here,” Poppy interrupted quickly, picking up the clothes she had set on the bathroom counter. She didn’t remember a time she ever had to help someone get dressed, but she figured Tora would not be careful when dressing him. She turned when he pulled up the pants, and she made to help him out to her couch. He was reaching for Poppy’s hand when Tora smacked it away.  
“Don’t fuckin’ touch her. You’ve done enough,” Tora growled, and grabbed his brother’s collar once again. He half led, half dragged him to the living room. He pushed him on the couch. “Don’t fuckin’ move. I need to make some calls.”  
This time when Tora went out to her balcony, Poppy followed. He paused in his typing, and looked at her.  
It was strange, less than an hour ago, they were kissing in this same spot.  
“Look, Bobby, I’m sorry.” He sighed, he reached for his cigarettes. He reconsidered, not wanting to get smoke in Poppy’s face. “I didn’t realize Goliath was this fuckin’ dumb.”  
“Tora,” Poppy said, stepping towards him, and took his hand. Tora gripped it like it was the only thing holding him together. “It’s okay.”  
“I’m gonna call my boys to watch your place,” Tora continued. “Goliath says he got away and lost them, but I don’t want them thinkin’ you’re part of this.”  
The thought left Poppy cold. He thought someone might try and break in? He must’ve seen the look on her face, and he pulled her into a hug. She couldn’t tell if it was for her sake, or for his.  
“I can go stay with Erdene tonight,” Poppy suggested. “I could use a girls night...”  
Tora nodded, and after another moment let Poppy go. There were lots of questions she had about Goliath, and why Tora was so mad. Poppy knew he had been a little worried when he had disappeared with no word. Was this the first time he saw him since? Why was he so angry? Did it have to do with the phone call?  
Poppy went back inside to pack a bag, and texted Erdene, while Tora made some phone calls anyways. Goliath was staring off into the distance, but watched Poppy silently as she walked by. After a second thought, she went and grabbed a glass of water and offered it to him.  
The man smiled, and that’s when Poppy really saw the similarities between the two.  
“Thanks, darling,” Goliath said, using his unbroken hand to take the glass. He finished it in one go, and coughed when he was done.  
It was quite a funny sight.  
Two mafia members in her tiny apartment, one in her old clothes, one she had just been kissing, and bloody clothes in her trash can. She couldn’t quite say she had experienced any of this before.  
“You his girl?” Goliath said. The way he held himself and talked and the facial features were so alike yet so different compared to his brother.  
“Oh, no,” Poppy hurriedly said. “We’re just friends.”  
His laugh was husky. “Tora doesn’t just hug people, darling. I don’t even remember when that guy gave me a hug. His own little brother.”  
“Didn’t you disappear for the last couple of months?” Poppy pointed out, looking at him innocently.  
Goliath smiled. “You ARE his girl. Why the hell would be tell ya something like that? I mean, dude needed a girl. Lighten up his shitty attitude.”  
“I’m no one’s ‘girl.’ I’m Poppy.”  
Goliath rolled his eyes like he didn’t believe her, but was going to drop the subject. “Goliath.”  
“Nice to meet you.”  
“You don’t have to lie to me,” he teased. “I doubt you’re happy right now. Some guy showing up at ya door all fucked up.”  
Poppy didn’t respond. He was quick to talk, with intelligent eyes. Like there was a lot more than he was revealing lurking under there.  
“Let’s go,” Tora said, stepping back inside. Poppy just finished packing, and had already read the message from Erdene saying she was running to go get the booze.  
As they went down the stairs - fairly slow, due to Goliath’s hisses of pain and cursing. At the bottom, Tora grabbed his brother and pushed him under the stair well.  
“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” Tora ordered. Tora grabbed Poppy’s hand, and they walked out past the gate.  
There was Tora’s red sports car, and another silver car pulled up behind him. A guy with pink hair, and a blonde with a reversed black ball cap, were leaning against the second car. They straightened when they saw Tora.  
“Big Bro,” the pink haired one greeted.  
“Follow her to her friend’s house,” Tora said, motioning to Poppy. “Stay around the area just in case.”  
They both nodded in understanding, and Tora waited till Poppy was in her car, doors locked. Poppy rolled the window down.  
“Drive safe, sweetheart. I’ll call ya soon,” Tora said. And before she could say anything he walked away to talk to the other boys. Poppy started her car, and waited for Tora’s boys to get in the car.  
As she pulled out, they did as well.  
And with a lot of questions and lots of nerves, she headed to Erdene’s.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“You two kissed?!” Erdene squealed.   
“Shhhh shhh,” Poppy said, giggling. They already had a few beers, and Poppy was finally able to relax a bit. “It was just a peck. No open mouth or anything.”  
“That blush says otherwise, Miss Poppylan Wilkes,” Erdene giggled, poking her cheeks. “Why are you here now when you could be riding that fuckin Tiger of Ares street?”  
“Dene!! Please!” If Poppy could get any redder her heart was going to explode. Seeing a perfect subject change, she asked, “Tiger of Ares Street?”  
Erdene rolled her eyes, tilting her beer all the way up. “It’s his title, or whatever. I didn’t wanna say anything cause I wanted you to get laid.”  
“I do get laid. I lay myself down to sleep every night.”  
“That’s the point - I want someone else to lay you down,” Erdene laughed, causing Poppy to as well.   
They sobered, sipping at their drinks. Poppy on a fruit little blue berry drink and Erdene with a tall brown bottle. Erdene tilted her head at her friend. “But, seriously Pops. Everything good? I’m not complaining that you wanted to have a girls night, but it seemed your evening was going pretty good.”  
“I... I don’t think I can talk about it, really,” Poppy admitted.   
“Girl, you’re not in a gang or something. You’re not ‘sworn to secrecy’ or whatever,” Erdene pointed out, huffing.   
Poppy laughed. “I know, I know. Well... someone who Tora thought was missing showed up at my apartment, completely roughed up. I had to clean up blood, Dene. And they left, and Tora wanted to make sure I was safe.”  
Erdene’s mouth was hanging open by the time Poppy finished. She blinked, opened her mouth, closed it, and then took a big swig of her beer.   
“Well,” Erdene finally said. “That is kinda crazy.”  
“Aaaaaand a few of his friends are keeping and eye on your place tonight,” Poppy added quickly.   
Erdene stared at Poppy, and took another drink. “I mean... are they cute?”  
The two started laughing again. As the night progressed, the more Erdene was telling Poppy to dare her to go talk to the boys. Even though whenever Poppy looked out the window, she didn’t see the car, she knew they were around. She couldn’t imagine anyone disobeying Tora so blatantly, especially since they were his ‘guys.’  
Finally Erdene passed out in a drunken stupor. Throwing a blanket over the girl, Poppy went and sat on the couch, her own blanket and pillow already set up. She left the bathroom light on, so it was easier to see.   
She opened up her and Tora’s text messages, and debated about texting the man. He was probably pretty busy, but she was worried about him. And for Goliath, even though she had just met him. She shot him a simple text, and curled up. 

“Honey!” Quincey said, walking into the spare bedroom. Goliath was passed out on the bed, and Tora was sitting in the spare chair in the room, a cigarette in his mouth. Tora glared at the blonde man, inhaling. “You hungry? I was gonna order in. Pancakes sound good?”  
“Breakfast sandwich,” Tora said, blowing the smoke out through his nose. He was exhausted. He had spent many nights up late, but with Goliath screaming in pain it was kinda hard. He was surprised Quincey was awake so early.   
“Okay! But Honey 2.0 is getting pancakes,” Quincey said as he sashayed away from the bedroom. Tora rubbed his face, debating about whether he should go to the other room and crash for a few hours. There was a clan dinner later that day, and Tora was expected to attend. Failure to show up would not be good.   
He checked his phone absently, and was surprised to see a text. Guess he couldn’t hear the ding over the screams.   
‘Hope everything is okay. Let me know if you two need anything.’  
Tora smiled. He didn’t have the energy to reply, so he locked it and put it back in his pocket. He would have to call her later. Apologize.   
Tora decided to take a shower, and by the time he was done, food was there. He sat on the couch, sandwich in hand. His boys told him everything was quiet all night, no suspicious activity or individuals. They had seen the girls leave the house to go to work.   
Quincey was working on his pancakes, unusually quiet. Mid chew Tora heard a thump and cursing. After a moment of hearing Goliath struggle, Tora growled and went into the back room.   
Goliath was struggling to get back into the bed. It seemed he landed on his bruised side. Tora helped him roughly, and by the time the younger man was back in his original position, sweat was dripping down his face.   
“Fuck, Bro,” Goliath gasped. “Don’t let anyone kick ya ribs in. Shit sucks.”  
“Ya probably deserved it,” Tora stated, already itching for a cigarette. Goliath has that special privilege - making his big brother ache for a smoke.   
Tora escaped to the bathroom, and stripped, turning the water on to scalding. it was a hell of a fuckin night. And he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go from there. If what Goliath had told him was true, he couldn’t let anyone in the clan know. If he turned him lose to the streets, someone would kill him.   
“Fuck,” Tora growled, and pushed the thoughts aside for the moment. He had to shuffle through Quincey’s five different shampoos and conditioners to find just a basic one. Quickly washing and conditioning his hair, he washed off. He needed to get some sleep in.   
But his thoughts drifted back to what Goliath had been saying when he had answers the phone on the balcony. 

“The fuck you’ve been, Goliath?”  
“Big bro, big bro.” He was gasping. “They’re after me. Look, I got into some deep shit bro. Way over my head.”  
“What did ya do?”  
He nervous chuckled. “I started this... notebook, ya see. And a few videos. Of some gang relations and people in power.”  
“Ya gotta be fuckin kidding.”  
Goliath coughed. Sounded wet. “I’m not bro! That’s why I was gone. Lots of undercover shit and bribing. I tried striking a deal with Mikey Boucher-“  
“The fuckin’ Boucher Brothers? Goliath why the fuck-“  
“I know!” The younger brother yelled, followed by a cough. “I know, Tora. They had their boys follow me. Fucked me up really good. I’m in bad shape bro. I lost them, but I need some help. You alone?”  
“Yeah, I’m by myself. Text me ya location. I’ll come get ya.”  
“Tora, I can’t go to a clan doctor. I have shit on Vincent, too.”  
Tora ground his teeth, and hung up. This is what he was doing for the last three years? Why him and Gyu were being sneaky and shady? He was going to beat them within and inch of their lives. 

Tora brushed his teeth with his spare toothbrush there, and changed into new clothes. No fuckin wonder people thought Quincey and him were a thing - he had a lot of his own shit there.   
Tora went and collapsed in the other spare bedroom, his feet nearly hanging off the edge. He opened Poppy’s message again, and typed out a quick message.   
‘Alive. Long night. Call you soon.’  
He had just closed his eyes when he heard a ding. He cracked an eye open to read it.   
‘Sounds good (:’


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy gets another unexpected visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided the last chapter was pretty boring, so I decided to add the exciting chapter haha! Hope everyone enjoys!

Lucky for Poppy, Monday’s we’re always pretty busy. Flower orders came in, and she started processing them and putting them into new buckets as Erdene started on arrangements. Gil was there, so they had curbed the illegal syndicate talk. She had finally heard back from Tora, but he didn’t give much detail. At least they were alright. But the waiting and anxiety was getting to her. Would Tora actually explain what was going on? Or would it be deemed official ‘Clan Buisness?’ Probably the latter, if Poppy was being honest with herself.  
“Gonna waterboard that plant until it tells you it’s secrets, Pops?” Erdene called. Poppy blinked, and squeaked. It was definitely overflowing. She quickly drained it, and put a little plastic drainer in it so it wouldn’t kill the poor plant.  
“Got something on your mind, Poppy?” Gil asked, adding some snap dragons on to a fall arrangement.  
“Oh, nothing important,” Poppy sighed. “Just lots of adjusting, moving back here, ya know?”  
“Narin city is it’s own unique setting,” Gil agreed.  
The door chimed, and Poppy looked up to greet the customer.  
“Hello, welcome to...” she trailed off, surprised to see who it was. It was one of the guys from the other day, when she went to give Tora the cupcakes. Yori? Yadori? That sounded right.  
He smiled creepily, and glanced around. “Nice lil flower shop,” he said, hands in his pockets. “He told me ya were working today.”  
He? Poppy raised a brow, and went over to the counter, to keep the desk between them. “What do you need?”  
“Boss told me to come talk to ya,” Yadori said. He glanced behind Poppy’s shoulder. “Alone.”  
Boss? Was Tora boss? Would he even say? Tora did seem like he was probably high up, but she didn’t know for sure.  
“Yeah, okay,” she agreed. She grabbed her purse. “Let’s go outside.”  
He walked outside, and Poppy ran over to Erdene. “Hey, if I’m not back in seven, come get me, okay?”  
Erdene crinkled her brow, seeming hesitant. “I’ll give you five. That guy looks creepy.”  
Poppy agreed, but she didn’t want to tell that to Erdene. So she quickly went outside. Yadori was leaning against Tora’s studio window, lighting a cigarette.  
“So what did you need to talk about?” Poppy asked.  
“It’s nothin’ personal,” Yadori said. “Clan buisness, ya know.”  
“What Clan business? Why didn’t Tora call me?” Poppy asked suspiciously.  
“Tora?” Yadori laughed. “Naw, Big Bro Tora didn’t send me. He’s a little... tied up right now.”  
Poppy froze. She couldn’t tell how much he was telling the truth. Was Tora okay? Did they find out about Goliath? Why was she apart of Clan business now?  
“Who sent you then?” Poppy asked, taking a step back.  
Yadori just chuckled. He seemed to glance up and around, seeing if anyone was watching them. What was he even planning on doing? Was he gonna try something on a public street like this? Though, glancing cautiously around herself, it wasn’t that busy at all.  
The man was quicker than she thought. At her seconds glance, he lunged towards her. Poppy yelled, and tried to kick him between the legs, he side stepped, pulling her arm around to her back and shoving her up against a car. As she saw him reaching towards the car door, she realized how he had strategically gotten her between the studio and his car. Poppy had fallen for it.  
As he got the back door open, Poppy yanked her hand free from her purse, and pressed the button on the tazor and shoved it into his side.  
Instantly Yadori convulsed, and released her. Poppy shoved back, and he fell on his back with a smack.  
Poppy ran for the flower shop, bursting in. Erdene was by her side in a second, and Gil called the cops. By the time Poppy could gasp out what happened, Erdene ran out the door, murder in her eyes, to see the car peeling away.  
“What the fuck? Did he just try and abduct you?”  
“I don’t know,” Poppy gasped. Her heart was trying to jump out of her chest. Her legs were shaking so hard she finally had to sit down.  
The police showed up five minutes later. They took her statement, and when they were asking if Poppy knew the guy, she paused, and said no. She saw Erdene throw her a look, but otherwise didn’t comment on it.  
Since there were no cameras that could’ve gotten a clip of the incident, they just told her it would be filed and the person description would be entered into the system and sent around to any of the cops on duty. But that was about as much as they could do at the moment.  
Erdene complained to them about it, but they just apologized and left. Erdene took Poppy to the back, and left Gil to keep an eye on the front.  
Erdene grabbed a coke, and they sat down at the little table in the back for employee lunch time.  
“So, what the fuck was that?” Erdene asked after Poppy sipped at her drink.  
“I have no clue,” Poppy said honestly. “I’ve never even talked to that guy before.”  
“Isn’t he apart of Tora’s clan or whatever? So why would he even try to kidnap you?”  
“He said Tora didn’t send him, so I don’t think Tora even knows he was planning on doing it,” Poppy sighed, wiping her eyes. Tora had a rough night, so she didn’t want to bother him with this at the moment. Hopefully he was resting.  
“Do you wanna sleep at my house tonight?” Erdene offered, touching her arm.  
“I really wanna sleep in my own bed tonight,” Poppy said honestly. And if there had been a problem, Tora would’ve texted her, and his guys would’ve approached her. “They don’t know where I live or anything. But I’ll call Tora later and tell him.”  
“I can come to your house,” Erdene offered, and then she facepalmed. “Wait. I forgot, I have a wedding consultation later today that’s gonna be a doozy.”  
“It’s fine, Dene,” Poppy assured. “I’ll make sure my doors are all locked and I’ll have the police on speed dial. And my handy tazor seemed to take care of him.”  
They both giggled at that. Erdene went ahead and sent Poppy home, and Poppy made sure to drive around for quite awhile before going back to her house. She didn’t think anyone was following her.  
She briskly walked across the lot and up to her apartment, and locked the doors. For good measure, she pushed a chair up under the door handle. There. Tora would be proud of her.  
Speaking of... it was only four. Should she try to call him? Or should she wait for him to text her like he said he would?  
Maybe a text first, so she wouldn’t accidentally wake him. 

Tora entered the restaurant, at Quincey’s shoulder. He usually didn’t come to these things, since he wasn’t interested in Clan business. He knew enough, and the thought of scheming and murdering people wasn’t his style. Tora had seen him throw up on many occasions just at the mention of a hit job.  
“Quinceton! Tora!” Vincent greeted them as they entered the reserved dining room. “My boys. Glad to see you two together.”  
“Can’t fuckin’ get away from him,” Tora mused, lighting a cigarette.  
“You’re so mean to me,” Quincey whined, huffing.  
“Love bird troubles?” Scharch mused, walking up.  
“Don’t think anyone asked ya.” Tora blew his smoke out in the direction of Scharch’s face. Tora inwardly smiled when he saw a vein in Scharch’s head throb.  
“Gentlemen,” Vincent interrupted. “We’re trying to have a nice dinner here. Let’s sit. Round of drinks on me.”  
Tora followed behind Quincey and his father, turning his back to the redhead. While Tora didn’t usually openly acknowledge Scharch, after the other day... might as well rub salt in the wound. He knew the man was jealous of Tora’s position. Not that Tora cared either fuckin way.  
Quincey sat next to his father, and Tora on the other side of Quincey. Their usual of strawberry juice and martini’s arrived moments later. Vincent was talking about some shit with Martin, some Clan borders, and Quincey seemed overall bored.  
Tora felt his phone vibrate (“I don’t want to hear any phones during dinner,” Vincent always said) and he checked his screen under the table, and froze.  
‘Hey, something happened today. I’m okay. But if you could call me when you get a minute.’  
Tora tapped Quincey’s foot under the table, and seeing Tora’s face, Quince nodded. Tora stood quietly, and walked calmly out.  
Vincent looked up in time to see Tora walking out the door, and he looked at his son. “Quinceton, where is Tora going?”  
“He said he needed to use the bathroom,” Quincey assured, smiling at his father. “May be awhile.”

Tora almost got into three accidents on the way to Poppy’s house. He screeched to a stop next to the curb, slightly crooked. He ran up the flights of stairs in a few seconds flat, and had to take a deep breath as he knocked at her door.  
Tora counted your ten in his head, as the locks were undone. Poppy opened up the door, blinking with surprise up at him.  
“What happened?” If it had anything to do with his brother he was going to go smother him as he slept.  
Almost instantly he saw the tears rise in her eyes. Tora instantly stepped forward, bending down to wrap her in a hug. He kicked the door closed behind him, and reached to get the locks done.  
“Sorry,” Poppy sniffled. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I think it’s what they c-call the mom effect. Where you don’t cry till someone asks you what’s wrong.” Tora led them to her couch, and sat down with her. He let her cry, even though he was desperate to know what happened. Finally, after a minute of clinging to him - he had shed the suit jacket, and was just left in his white button down and slacks - she straightened and wiped her eyes and nose with the back of her hand.  
“Sorry. I was good until I saw you.”  
“Girls don’t usually cry when they see me,” Tora joked lightly. Poppy cry-laughed, sniffling as she looked at how he was dressed.  
“We’re you busy?” She sniffed, looking up at him.  
Fuck, he was never too busy for her. Especially when she was looking at him like she was now. Red eyes and big chocolate irises.  
“No, sweetheart. I’ll come anytime ya need me to,” he said, leaving one arm around her shoulders as the other trailed shyly to her hand. She gripped it hard. “Could ya tell me what happened?”  
She looked down. “You’re gonna be mad.”  
“I’m already there, Bobby,” Tora said truthfully. “So ya might as well just get it out.”  
“Well, wYadori showed up at my work...”


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora stays to comfort Poppy. And Goliath being... Goliath

Poppy watched the muscle in Tora’s jaw tense repeatedly the further along she got in her story. His eyes got dark, and a look she had never seen on a person before crosses his face before he collected himself again. The arm on her should got tensed, and at this point she was pretty sure he was gripping her hand to keep himself together.   
“My coworker called the cops, but they told us nothing could be done. I didn’t tell them who he was...”  
“Cops won’t be needed,” Tora confirmed.   
Poppy ignored him. “And Dene let me come home early. I knew something was up when he was leading me to believe that he came for you. But I wasn’t sure if you and Goliath got in trouble or something, so I didn’t want to take the risk just in case you did need help.”  
“Bobby.” Tora took her face in his hands, looking at her seriously. “If you ever think I’m in trouble, don’t come try to help me.”  
“But what if I-“  
“If there one thing I’m ever gonna ask of ya, it’s this,” Tora interrupted her. “Don’t talk to any of the syndicate. Only person that would call ya is Quincey. And if I’m ever in trouble, don’t. Come. Searchin’. For. Me.”  
Poppy only nodded, cause she wasn’t about to say a lie to him. He released her face, taking out his phone. Poppy watched him type quickly, and send off a text. She didn’t think she wanted to know what or who he texted, so instead she cuddled into his side.   
“Are you going to leave tonight?” Poppy asked lightly, scratching at his chest.   
“That depends,” Tora sighed. “What do ya need me to do?”  
Poppy was almost certain if she let him leave her apartment he was going to go do something bad to Yadori. Then again, that would be eventual it seemed. He also looked exhausted. She wondered how much sleep he had gotten last night after taking Goliath to wherever it was.   
“You look tired,” she stated.   
His eyes turned to her, and he strained a smile. Poppy already knew something bad was gonna come out of his mouth just from that look - “Ya want to sleep together?”  
If she had pillows on her couch she would’ve smacked him with one. And here she was about to offer to make dinner. Maybe something vegetarian...  
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Poppy decided ignoring his flirting may be best at the moment. “How’s Goliath?”  
Tora shrugged. It didn’t seem he was gonna answer, but finally, “Naw. It’s not unusual for me. And who fuckin cares about Goliath. He got himself fucked up. Not my problem.”  
“It’s okay to be concerned for your little brother, you know,” Poppy said, poking his knee. “Erdene is probably the closest I have to a sibling. I always wanted a little sister...”  
“You’d still probs be the little one,” Tora pointed out.   
“Sorry everyone can’t be over six foot!”  
“Six three.”  
“Don’t forget the three inches,” Poppy snickered.   
“I mean, it’s actually around-“  
Poppy darted forward and covered his mouth. He grinned at her behind her hand, she could tell, as his eyes crinkled. Maybe one day Poppy would be able to stop the blush crossing her face when she heard any of Tora innuendos. But today was not the day.   
“Do you want food? Or not?” Poppy tried sounding offended, but failed by smiling.   
“Mm mmmm m m.”  
“Oops, sorry.” Poppy released his face. “What?”  
“I didn’t think ya would want to cook. I was gonna order take out, if you wanted.”  
“You didn’t want a little tiger rice ball?”  
“Never said that,” Tora disagreed. “I just figured ya had a long day.”  
Poppy sighed, shrugging. “If you want to, I wouldn’t mind take out. I just wanna sit and not think about it.”  
She saw Tora’s eyes glance over her head, and then back at her. “Well, you go paint or whatever. Imma make a call and order takeout. Sound good?”  
Poppy was already touched. “Yeah, that’s fine.” He nodded, brushing a loose lock of her hair behind her ear, and stood.   
Poppy had already changed when she got home, and had painted a little bit before Tora had gotten there. But knowing now Tora was there, she felt more at peace, and could probably focus more.   
Tora came back into the apartment, a small overnight bag in his hand. He was still typing on his phone as he used his other hand to lock her dead bolts behind him.   
“Ramen sound good?” Tora asked, looking up. Poppy nodded in confirmation, mixing some of her paints. “I’m gonna change.”  
“The bathroom is on the right,” she said nonchalantly. Though, she had to admit, she did like him in his button down and slacks. It fit him... pretty well.   
Poppy dipped her brush in the black, to start on the stripes. She had yet to finish the painting from the other day, and she was determined to finish it sooner rather than later. The background was pretty much done, she would go back and add details later. The big cat was her focus right now.   
Tora came out a few minutes later, and Poppy had to be sure not to stare. He was wearing a black tank top and some grey joggers. Before he could catch her she stared intently on her painting.   
“Food should be here in the hour,” Tora said, coming over behind her to peek at her painting. “Ya know, you’re pretty good.”  
“I have a spare canvas if you want to paint, too,” Poppy offered, looking up at him. He had pulled all his hair up into a loose pony tail. “I would love to see your work.”  
“Ya went into my studio,” Tora pointed out. “All the shit on the wall is mine.”  
“But I wanna see you draw it,” Poppy explained. “Or you can get my laptop and watch movies.”  
Tora decided on the other canvas. Since Poppy didn’t have another easel (and the one she had was getting pretty gross and maybe molding?) she set up her paints between them on the floor at the coffee table.   
“Whatcha want me to draw?” Tora asked, taking the offered pencil he had asked for.   
“Anything you want, Tora,” Poppy laughed.   
They ended up painting in comfortable silence together. Tora ended up painting a solid navy background, and Poppy watched, interested as he mixed a tiny bit of blue with white, and started on some fine lighter lines.   
Watching him, she could help trail her eyes up his arm, watching it flex and move as he painted. She also took the time to study his tattoos a little more, and how far up they went, swirling onto his chest. And how his tank top clung to his frame.   
Poppy mentally slapped herself.   
He was not a piece of meat, he was not a piece of meat. He was not-  
There was a knock at the door. Poppy stopped herself from jumping this time (she had when Tora knocked earlier) and by the time Poppy even thought to answer it Tora was at the door. After making sure it was the delivery person, he gave him some cash and took the food.   
They put their paintings away for the time being, and set their food down and divided it up between them. Seafood ramen. Poppy’s mouth watered. She hadn’t been able to afford something like this in ages. One nice thing about Tora is that he seemed to like food, and Poppy was more than happy to help him eat.   
“It’s kinda crazy to see you go from button downs to tank top and joggers,” Poppy mentioned after a moment.   
“I hear girls really like grey sweat pants,” Tora said, sipping some of the broth.   
Poppy glared at him over his bowl. “I’m not walking into that one,” she stated flatly, and Tora grinned.  
“Naw, it was my gym clothes. Princess has a full gym at his place, so I usually work out over there. I had just put clean clothes in that bag, so I won’t smell like shit.”  
“Did you expect cuddles or something?”  
“Maybe. Maybe start off where we left off on the porch,” Tora said, brow arched.   
“Tora,” Poppy whined. He was on fire tonight with the jokes, it seemed. Though that one didn’t seem very much like a joke.   
They finished eating, and it was nice to not have dishes for once, since they threw it all away. Since it was getting dark, Poppy decided to put a movie on. It seemed like Tora was spending the night after all, though she had no complaints. As long as he behaved himself. And she really didn’t want to be alone tonight.   
She gave Tora the computer to scroll through the movies, and she ran and grabbed the pillows from her bed and her comforter and another spare blanket.   
“When I was a kid, and it was a snow day, I used to make my dad bring out my mattress into the living room so we could sprawl out all day,” Poppy remembered fondly.   
“Did ya want me to drag your mattress out?” Tora asked, still scrolling through the movies. His eyes were already drooping.   
“It’s late, and you’re tired,” Poppy assured, patting his arm.   
He finally looked over at her, a ‘really?’ look on his face.   
“Then where will we sleep?” Poppy pointed out.  
“I’ll sleep on the couch, you can sleep on your bed.”  
“I don’t even think you can fit on my couch. It’s more of a loveseat really...”  
“Bobby.”  
“Fine, fine. Let’s drag my mattress out.” Erdene would’ve strangled her if she had seen their interaction. Poppy never had to do this stuff; Julri was never a physical person, at least not with her. And since they had been high school sweethearts, she never had to go through this flirting stage. At least not in such a long time.   
Poppy dragged the coffee table out of the way, and Tora grabbed her mattress. He held her queen size mattress like it was nothing. He laid it gently on the ground, pressed back against the couch.   
Poppy put the pillows up against the couch, and laid her comforter down on one side and gave Tora his own blanket.   
After Poppy wrapped herself up in her blanket, Tora sat and leaned back, stretching his legs out. He put the laptop between them, and pressed play.   
It was some movie about a samurai, and Poppy expected nothing less. But as Poppy was getting into it, she felt Tora pressing against her side. She looked over at him surprised, since he has been pretty quiet throughout the whole thing.   
And she found him passed out, starting to slump over onto her. Already seeing the headline (‘Local Woman Suffocated Under the Man She Claims Wasn’t Her Boyfriend’), Poppy reached over and rubbed his arm.   
Instantly, he jolted uptight, and Poppy swore she saw his hand reach for his waist.   
“Sorry, Tora, it was me,” Poppy said quickly. He blinked down at her a few times, before settling back down. “You fell asleep, and you were gonna crush me.”  
“‘Sorry,” he said groggily, and scooted down till he was just laying on the bed, wrapping and arm under the pillow. Poppy turned the laptop off, and laid down wrapped in her own blanket.   
She reached over, finding his spare hand, and almost instantly he opened it to clasp hers. Poppy smiled, and fell asleep happily. 

Goliath stood at the cracked window, looking out over Narin City. Quincey had brought him take out and some water, but otherwise left him alone. They had never been as close as him and Tora were. Goliath wasn’t chosen to go through the Balthuman Boot Camp.   
Tora hadn’t been back to check on him at all. Must’ve been with that girl. Poppy? Something like that. Still surprised him. He was starting to believe the rumors of his big brother being gay. Who cares.   
Goliath blew the smoke out the window, biting the inside of his lip. His side still hurt like a bitch, and overall he was just sore. He couldn’t believe those dumb asses still hadn’t found the Notebook on him when they beat the shit out of him. He had managed to roll it up tightly, and put it down his pants. It was small enough, you couldn’t really see it.   
And when Tora be his little girlfriend we’re out on the balcony, he had slid it, spine in, into the girl’s book collection. Neither of them had noticed. The girl had all of his big bro’s attention.   
Goliath crushed the cigarette out, and went to eat his dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why Goliath, why.   
> Hope everyone is enjoying the story still (: all characters belong to Lilydusk


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora and Poppy have a good morning, and Scharch makes breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *All characters belong to Lilydusk*
> 
> Hope everyone has a good day, today! The rating for this story went up due to scene that’s in a few chapters, but I did make it so you could just skip it and not lose any plot or whatnot (: I’ll post a warning in the notes section just in case that’s not your cup of tea.

Tora slowly came to, and opened his eyes. He was met by a mass of brown hair, and Poppy’s face pointed upward, but tilted towards him. She was still fast asleep, mouth slightly ajar. It seemed at some point she had kicked off all her blankets (she always got too hot at night), and then Tora had cuddled her, since her head was on his arm, and his other arm tucked safely around her waist.  
He blinked.  
Never would he ever thought, three years ago, they would be sprawled out together on her bed in the middle of the living room, cuddling. Tora smiled, and gently squeezed her closer to him. In turn, she stretched, rolling towards him, and burying her face into his chest. He rested his chin on the crown of her head, and could smell her coconut shampoo.  
They stayed like that for some time, and Tora never wanted it to end. Cause as soon as he left that apartment, it was back to Clan Business. And he knew where he was gonna start.  
Poppy’s morning alarm started going off. She groaned, burying deeper into his arms as if that would make the alarm stop, and she wouldn’t have to go to work. Tora reached over, grabbing her phone, and turned it off.  
After a second, seeming that Poppy had finally become aware of their current position, she raised her head, blinking the sleep from her eyes.  
“Mornin’,” Tora said huskily.  
“Good morning,” Poppy said back, followed closely by a yawn. He was expecting her to pull away from him, but she stayed where she was. “I don’t want to go to work.”  
“I don’t want you to go either.”  
“Can... Can we stay like this? For a few days?” Poppy said shyly, back to scratching lightly at his chest.  
“Bobby, you have no fuckin’ clue how much I would love that,” Tora said honestly. Poppy smiled up at him, and they locked gazes. Fuck, was she gorgeous. He brushed some of her bed head back lightly, behind her ear, and trailed his fingers down her jaw. He heard her suck in a breath, but didn’t move. Tora could tell she was waiting for him, and fuck he wanted to kiss her and convince her to stay in bed with him all day.  
Tora continued to trail his fingers down the side of her neck, and her pulse under his fingertips were racing. He smiled, looking back up at her. He saw her blush. And that wasn’t enough conviction to kiss her immediately, he didn’t know what else would.  
Tora leaned forward, giving her more than enough time to pull away if she wanted, but his lips met her warm ones. He saw her eyes flutter shut, and felt her hands reach up to lightly grip his shirt front.  
Maybe they would be staying in bed all day, after all.  
Tora broke the kiss, but Poppy quickly leaned back forward. He felt her mouth open shyly, and Tora was more than happy to oblige. His hands settled on her waist as her hands found his hair. Their kiss went from shy, to comfortable, to almost frantic. Poppy was grabbing his hair and lightly pulling, and Tora felt like he was going to explode. Poppy was pushing her breast up against him, and he was grabbing her cute little ass -  
Tora pulled back, “Poppy.”  
She was looking up at him, flushed and panting. Tora had no doubt he looked the same way. Fuck.  
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, releasing his hair. “It’s just been a minute.”  
“Don’t be fuckin’ sorry,” Tora said, leaning his forehead against hers. “Ya need to get ready for work. We were almost past the point of no return there.”  
Poppy giggled, and sat up. Tora sat up, making sure the blanket was pulled up over his waist. There was no doubt she had felt his fuckin’ hard on, but he didn’t exactly want it on display.  
“I’m gonna go hop in the shower,” Poppy said, standing.  
“Need someone to wash ya back?”  
Tora’s answer was a pillow to the face. He watched her go into her room, grab clean clothes, and hurry to the bathroom, a little skip in her step. Tora smiled unknowingly, and stood, going to her balcony.  
He lit a cigarette, and pulled out his phone.  
Tora had a few messages.  
One from Gyu, sending over Yadori’s address.  
One from Damien (Pinky), letting Tora know that Yadori was hiding on Ares street, far from their side of Narin.  
One from Goliath, asking if Tora has forgotten him.  
One from Quincey, asking if Tora had forgotten his brother at his house.  
A quiet day, indeed.  
He sent several replies back, and finished his cigarette before heading back in. He put Poppy’s bed back, and moved the coffee table to its original spot. The apartment was mostly put back together when Poppy came out of the bathroom, finishing off her braid.  
“Thanks for putting everything back!” She said happily, glancing into her room to see the mattress back. “That was fun. It’s been so long since I’ve done that.”  
“Which part?” Tora said, reaching down and grabbing his bag.  
“... all of it.” Tora faltered, and could feel the heat rise to his face. Poppy smiled innocently up at him, and slipped on her shoes. Tora did the same - and looked silly in his dress shoes in his joggers - and they headed downstairs.  
“Will I see you at work?” Poppy asked, taking out her car keys.  
“Yeah,” Tora sighed. “Gotta go pick up the thorn in my side, and I’ll be there.”  
Poppy smiled and waved to him as she got in her own car, and he watched her drive away.  
Tora drove quickly to Quincey’s, texting his brother he was almost there. Quincey greeted Tora at the door, hissing as to why Tora had thought it was a good idea to leave his fugitive of a little brother there for a full day.  
“My father was calling, asking about you, since you ran off yesterday,” Quincey informed him. “Pretty upset about it.”  
“Some fucker tried snatching Poppy,” Tora explained, pushing past the Princess.  
Quincey blinked, surprised. “That cutie that brought you those delicious cupcakes?”  
“Yeah. Apparently one of Scharch’s guys.” He was getting heated again over it.  
“Why are the cute ones so bad,” Quincey tsk’ed.  
Goliath stumbled out of the back room, in a change of clothes from the other night. He seemed fresh out of the shower, and a little better over all. His eyes were both deeply bruised, and he obviously favored his unbroken hand. Just seeing him made Tora need a cigarette.  
“Thanks, Quince,” Tora said, motioning his brother out the door.  
“Of course, Honey,” Quincey said loudly, and then looked at Tora in a panicked seriousness and mouthed, ‘Not again!’  
Tora turned his car on as Goliath dropped down into the passenger seat, hissing. He pulled out, going a few miles down the road. They were silent, smoking cigarettes together with the windows cracked.  
“Thanks,” Goliath suddenly said. “For everything.”  
Tora didn’t say anything. He was glad to see his brother was at least alive. But they knew Clan life - if Goliath had what he said he did, and someone now knew that he had it... The Clans would be in an uproar. And Vincent would be breathing down his ass since they were brothers. Tora saw a lot less days at the studio for him.  
“Where’s the notebook?” Tora said.  
Goliath shrugged, flicking his cigarette butt out. “Safe.”  
“You fucker...”  
“It’s hidden! I promise. No one will find it.” Tora always hated that game with him. But he dropped it. There was only so much Tora could do to help the fuckin asshole.  
“How the fuck did you get dirt on everyone? With recordings?”  
Goliath smiled that creepy smile he always had since they were kids. “Oh, planning. Ease dropping. A bit of undercover work. Flirting and fucking some of the bookkeepers... the usual, big bro. the Three F’s: Flirt, fuck, flee. Being in the right place at the right time. Talking to some guys who were dealt the losing blow against Clans. Lots of rumored big corporations in leagues with Clans, most true. Grabbed a part time cleaning job that went around and cleaned up corporate offices.”  
While Tora tried to keep his mouth shut most of the time, Goliath just kept fucking talking if no one stopped him. Granted, he wouldn’t be saying all this if it was anyone else.  
“But I’m sorry for dragging ya girl into this,” Goliath continued. “I really didn’t know that was her apartment. Should’ve known. Too nice for you.”  
Tora hit the breaks hard, making Goliath have to catch himself on the dash. He glared at Tora.  
Luckily, his apartment had a back entrance, and they hurried up the flights of stairs to his. At least, went as fast as they could with Goliath cussing in pain. When they finally got up, Goliath collapsed on Tora’s couch, out of breath.  
Tora ran and took a quick shower, and changed into some ‘work’ clothes.  
“You leavin’?” Goliath asked, seeing the clean clothes.  
“Yeah,” Tora said, putting on some of his more rundown sneakers. “Got some work to get done. Clan shit.”  
Goliath laughed nervously. “What kind of Clan shit? Not gonna sell your brother out, are ya?” Tora glared at him. “Hey, sorry, just a little jumpy. It’s what happened when you get your shit rocked.”  
“And whose fault is that,” Tora said softly, walking out the door. He heard Goliath lock it behind him as he started down the stairs.  
Tora called Damien, and he picked up on the second ring. “Big Bro. Just saw him walkin’ into the Golden Rose. He’s been getting hammered all night.”  
“On my way.” Tora hung up, getting into his car.  
He could feel the eerie calmness washing over him as he was going to a job. This one wasn’t assigned to him, but it was definitely one that needed to be done. He wondered if Scharch would come for him? Would he think it was Tora? Was Scharch the one who gave the order? He couldn’t imagine it being anyone else.  
Tora pulled through Ares street. Since it was early morning, there was only a few out and about. It wasn’t nearly as hard to maneuver through this morning, like it is at night.  
Tora pulled through an alley, parking his car. He saw Damien across the street, sitting in his car, looking tired. Tora had him running around a lot lately. He made a note to give the kid the night off.  
Tora walked into the Golden Rose, to find the servers cleaning up. All the chairs were up, and their main bright lights were on. The bar tender just nodded to him, and continued cleaning the bar.  
Tora found who he was looking for easily. He was in the back, facedown on a table, an empty shot glass next to him. Tora knocked on the table.  
Yadori jolted up, and his eyes widened larger than Tora thought physically possible. Tora sat down across from the man, lighting a cigarette.  
“B-B-Big Bro,” Yadori slurred. “Look, look, look. It wasn’t whatcha think.”  
“Don’t fuckin tell me what I think,” Tora blew smoke in his face. “Ya got ten seconds to tell me who made you do it.”  
“Big Bro, Tiger of... Ares street. No one! It’s all good. No ones hurt, we all good-“  
Tora stood, grabbing his chair and swinging it. Yadori fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Walking around, Tora bent and grabbed him by his collar. His head rolled, and he was somehow still fuckin talking.  
The servers stood silently as he dragged out the half unconscious man. 

Scharch was just getting out of the shower when he heard a loud banging on his door. Instinctively, the redhead reached for the gun that was laid out on the bathroom counter.  
Pulling on his pair of shorts quickly, he stepped lightly to the door. There was no one evident from the key hole, and he clicked his tongue. He opened the door quietly, and was startled when there was a pressure on the door. He stepped back, and Yadori’s seemingly lifeless form flopped down in his door way.  
Scharch blinked, looking down at the man. He honestly couldn’t tell if he was dead. He dragged him inside, closing the door and locking it. He crouch down, pressing his fingers into his neck. He was surprised to find a fluttering heart beat.  
“Yadori, you stupid son of a bitch,” Scharch sighed, rubbing his face. “I told you to fuckin hide.” Scharch debated at what he should do from here. Call a Clan doctor, or just see if the fucker could pull through. He was obviously useless, and therefor no help to the Clan. Who couldn’t snatch a tiny little girl? And Yadori always bragged he was the best at bagging and tagging.  
Did Tora find out it was him? He obviously had suspicions, otherwise he would’ve just killed Yadori and dumped the body. He wanted to give Scharch a Warning.  
Scharch wouldn’t send a lackey next time.  
The redhead stepped over the busted body and went to go make breakfast.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erdene assures Poppy she can be late whenever, and Tora bribes Poppy for dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright you cool cats and kittens! I’m going to add this chapter tonight cause idk if I’ll upload tomorrow. I’m super busy haha and I only have up to chapter 20 written, which worries me cause I’m slowing down as I’m trying to decide where to take this story. (PS if anyone wants to beta read and let me bounce ideas off of you as to where this story should go, that would be amazing)  
> Thanks to everyone commenting and leaving me kudos. I really appreciate it and I love seeing the email alerts <3 
> 
> All characters belong to the wonderful Lily!
> 
> Fun fact: I could’ve sworn Damien’s name was Daniel, so if you catch that slip and see it in here please let me know haha

Poppy was worried by the time the clock struck one, and Tora still wasn’t over at the studio.   
“Poppylan, he is a grown man. He can do what he wants,” she chided herself, wrapping ribbons around the little bouquets Erdene had just made. The local high school had called for ten little bouquets, and one big one. And Poppy was the one who wrapped them in paper and tied them off. They were cute, with a red rose, white carnation, and a piece of leather leaf. The big was was made up of a few red roses, a few white roses and carnations, and one big hydrangea. She guess the high school had upped their image or something, cause the whole lot had come up to about eighty. She remembered a field trip being canceled because not everyone could afford the three dollars it took.   
A flash of red caught her eye, and she saw Tora’s car fly past. Wow, he drove? She guess if he was just dropping Goliath off at his place, would make sense. Or whatever it was he was doing.   
“Pops! Can you get the phone? I’m almost done with this arrangement,” Dene said. Poppy nodded, answering the phone and typing in the order for a birthday. It was going to be delivered tomorrow.  
“Alright, Dene,” Poppy said, grabbing the delivery van keys. “I’ll take that exotic arrangement.”  
“Thanks, Pops!” Erdene called after her. Poppy held the wider arrangement, careful to put it into a cube, and tucked their little sand bags around it so it didn’t tip over.   
Poppy spared a glance at Tora’s studio, and hopped in the car. After work she would go over and check on him.   
The rest of the day just consumed of busy work. Poppy cut and gave the flowers fresh water, and plucked any dead leaves on the plants, and cleaned the front windows and the glass on their display fridge.   
“Still down to go out with Jacob this weekend?” Erdene called across the shop, sweeping up all her trimming.   
“Oh, was that this weekend?” Poppy asked. She could’ve sworn it was next weekend.   
“Are you busy?” Erdene asked, hand on her hip. And all of a sudden she raised an eye brow. “Got a date?”  
“Why would I have a date?” Poppy said, looking at Erdene with big, confused eyes.   
“You know what I’m talking about, Poppylan,” Erdene said, rolling her eyes. Poppy giggled.   
“I don’t know. We’ve only kissed a couple of times...”  
Erdene was right next to her all of a sudden. “What?”  
Poppy blushed. “I said we kissed twice. Nothing else. I told you the first time we kissed, I didn’t realize you were that drunk!  
Erdene squealed, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl. “Better than nothing! And maybe I was a little drunk... But, how was it? Did he have to squat down to even look you in the eye? Like, really, Pops. The tallest guy you could find. I guess you know what they say about big guys, big-“  
“Shoes. Yes, I’m aware,” Poppy interrupted.   
Erdene wiggled her brows back at her. “Yeah, yeah. BIG shoes. Especially the Tiger of Ares Street.”  
“He’s really sweet. Last night he even dragged my mattress out into the living room for me.”  
Erdene stares down at the girl, and grabbed her shoulders. “He spent the night? And y’all didn’t even fuck?”  
“Why must it always be getting down and dirty?” Poppy laughed, and shook her head. “No, we didn’t. Almost this morning, it seemed. He had to stop me so I could get ready to come to work.”  
“Pops, look at me,” Erdene said, and Poppy did. “Tomorrow morning, if work is cockblocking you, be late.”  
“Dene!” Poppy squealed, and pulled away from her grasp. “I’m going to pull the flowers inside!”  
“Yeah, get a breath of fresh air,” Erdene laughed. Poppy smiled, and started dragging all the buckets inside. Narin city seemed fairly busy for such a late night. Lots of couples walking about. She saw a couple coming out of Tora’s shop, fresh tattoos covered on their arms. She wondered briefly if they got a matching couples tattoo.   
They swept, confirmed any orders on the computer, made sure all the arrangements for tomorrow were in the fridge, and headed out.   
“I’m exhausted,” Erdene sighed, locking up. “I was so angry all day from yesterday. I almost didn’t think you were coming in today.”  
“Being here is better than sitting at home,”  
Poppy pointed out. Plus, she didn’t think Yadori would be a problem anymore, but she didn’t tell Erdene that.   
“Well, let me know if you want to go with us this weekend,” Erdene said, opening her car door. “Tora would be welcome to join us. More the merrier.”  
“I’ll mention it to him,” Poppy agreed, and waved at her friend as she drove away.   
Poppy turned, and headed for Tora’s studio.   
The same soft, metal music was playing, and Tora was at the front desk area, looking at his schedule book, it seemed. He looked up, and offered Poppy a strained smile.   
“‘Sup, Bobby,” He said, crossing his arms.   
“How was your day?” Poppy asked, walking up to the counter.   
Tora shrugged. “Nothing crazy,” he said. Poppy didn’t even want to know what the mobster’s definition of crazy was.   
“How’s Goliath?”  
“Ya gotta wait till I have a smoke in my hand before asking me about that fucker,” Poppy sighed, rubbing his eyes.   
“Family can be stressful,” Poppy said sympathetically. “Did you do any cool tats today?”  
He showed her some sketches he did today, and a copy of the tattoos the couple got. Flowers, with the initials of each other. He showed her a starting of a dragon piece, and saying how the customer wanted it all black with white and red highlights. Tora seemed so into explaining to Poppy how he was going to do it, and other tattoos he was excited for. Poppy couldn’t help but smile.   
“What was Quincey getting?” Poppy asked.   
Tora laughed, and flipped through a sketchbook too fast for Poppy to study any of the details. He finally got to what he was looking for, and showed it to Poppy.   
“Oh, that’s gorgeous!” Poppy gasped, reaching up but not touching the paper. It was a dove, seeming to fly up and away from some kind of castle, or fortress, a ribbon streaming behind it.   
“You designed it?” Poppy asked.   
“Fuck yeah I did. Quincess and I... share the same feeling,” Tora said hesitantly.   
“Of being trapped?” Poppy looked ho at Tora. He seemed momentarily surprised, but just nodded. Poppy loved reading, and loved the deeper meaning of things. But why did Quincey feel trapped? Did Tora feel trapped due to being in the Clan?   
Tora tugged on one of Poppy’s braids, and started to the back. Poppy followed him, interested to see his work space.   
There was a light desk, another little table that a fake skull sat on, with a few coffee cups. In the corner was a large dog bed, and a bowl full of water. More of his drawing were hung up on one wall, and Poppy inspected them. There were many dragons, and koi, and flowers.   
“What kind of tattoo would you suggest I get?” Poppy asked.   
Tora faltered. “I can’t even imagine ya with a tattoo.”  
“But if I were to get one,” Poppy insisted.   
“... a little hamster.”  
“Tora!”  
The man snickered. “When I think of it, I’ll tell ya.”  
Poppy settled for that answer, and watched him put away his inks and gun. She asked if he had any more clients that day, and he shook his head.   
“I go easy when I get back from Clan business,” he said simply.  
“Did you have Clan business today?” Poppy asked.   
Amber eyes met hers. Those eyes enthralled and terrified her, but she stood her ground, looking up at him. He stepped towards her, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him.   
“Had to make sure no one was gonna try that shit like yesterday again,” Tora said seriously.   
“So I’m safe now?” That was a weight off of her shoulders.   
“Yeah.” Tora smirked. “Don’t need to share a bed with me no more.”  
“But-!” The word fell out of her mouth before she could stop it, and she instantly felt her cheeks light on fire.   
“But... what?” Tora said, looking down at her like a cat with a mouse cornered.   
“Um... But,” Poppy cleared her throat, puffing out her chest. “But I liked last night.”  
“Just last night?”  
“A-And this morning,” she added.   
Tora hummed in agreement, stepping towards her again so she had to step back, and the back of her thighs hit the black chair people sat in to get tattooed. His amber eyes were gonna make him melt at the intensity he was looking down at her.   
“Did you wanna do dinner again?” Poppy asked, sitting down on the chair, trying to look at least a bit composed.   
“Yeah,” Tora said his hands on either side of her, palms flat against the chair. He brought his mouth closer to her ear. “Dinner.”  
Poppy was positive her face was the same color as a stop sign.   
“Well, I’ll have to stop by the grocery store, and grab some things, since you eat so dang much. And you’re paying for at least the meat!” Poppy said, looking away, as if she could avoid the six foot (and three inches) of Greek god looming over her. “Feeding you constantly is going to make me broke.”  
Tora chuckled, standing straight and pulling out his wallet from his back pocket. “Can’t argue with that,” he said, handing her some bills. “Just pickup whatever ya need. I’ll pay for the food.”  
“When, um, are you gonna come over?” Poppy asked. “Do you need to check on Goliath?”  
“Why the fuck would I do that.”  
“Cause he’s your brother and he’s hurt, Tora!” Poppy said, brow raised. If she was standing she’d put her hands on her hips.   
“He did that shit to himself,” Tora shrugged. Poppy could already tell she wasn’t going to get anywhere. Though Tora’s indifference towards his brother baffled Poppy. Or maybe since they had both been raised in a gang, that was the usual? She had always thought it was the opposite. But Tora didn’t seem partial to anyone, besides Quincey.   
“Look, you go shop, I’ll go check on Goliath. Deal?”   
Poppy smiled. “Yes. Deal. See you in an hour?”  
Tora nodded.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora thinks about how simple his life could’ve been

Tora walked into his apartment, finding it surprisingly quiet. He reached over into the crevice just beside the door, and pulled out his gun.   
A quick sweep of the apartment, and he found it empty. Sticky noted to his TV was a note that was undeniably Goliath’s handwriting:  
‘Thanks big bro. I’ll see ya soon!’  
That dumb fucker. Tora could already see it. Him calling Tora back up because something went wrong. Tora’s place was probably one of the safest, and yet he booked it.   
“I fuckin wasted my time coming to make sure he was okay, while I could’ve been...” He could’ve been doing lots of things. Making Poppy blush. Making her laugh... pinning her up against the wall.   
Tora quickly showered. And just because of how that morning went, packed an overnight bag. If Poppy wanted it to be a regular thing, damn if he was going to complain. Waking up, holding her everyday was definitely something Tora could get used to. Even if it was only that.   
Tora put on some jeans, with a low cut V neck black shirt. He kicked on some shoes, and hurried back downstairs to his car.   
By the time he got to Poppy’s, the sun was starting to set. He knocked on the door, and after a moment Poppy opened it. She had undone her braids and showered, it seemed. She was already in shorts and a baggy sweater.   
“Hi,” She greeted, and then hurried back to the kitchen as an alarm started beeping. Tora entered, locking the door behind him. He placed his overnight bag beside the couch, and wondered into the kitchen.   
Poppy was frying something, and upon closer inspection he was impressed to see katsudon.   
“Ya sure like to cook,” Tora stated.   
“Do you not like katsudon?” Poppy said, looking up at him worriedly. “I figured everyone did. I should’ve texted you-“  
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Tora said, pinching her cheek. She complained (“why do you always have to go for my cheek?”), and Tora released her.   
“Do ya... need help?” He asked, hands in his pockets.   
“Um, you can get the bowls and chopsticks out,” she said, surprised. “And maybe pour our drinks?” She motioned to a bottle, and Tora picked it up with surprise.   
“Sake, huh?” He grinned at her. “If you wanted to get in my pants all ya had to do was-“  
“HOW is Goliath?” Poppy quickly interrupted him.   
“Wasn’t there,” Tora shrugged. When Poppy looked back at him, he added, “Left a note. Said he’ll call me soon. Fuckin punk apparently wasn’t that hurt.”  
“I doubt that was it,” Poppy said, and he could tell she was thinking about the bruises and cuts all over the boys body. “Why was he beat up in the first place?”  
“I don’t wanna say. Less ya know...”  
“... the better,” Poppy finished. He could see that wasn’t enough of an answer for her, but Tora didn’t want to drag her anymore into it than she already was.   
Tora set up the dishes, and helped Poppy dish out dinner. Tora carried the tray as Poppy grabbed the glasses and sake.   
Then Poppy seemed to watch him as he took a bite, as if checking to see if he had been lying to her about the food. Then she dug in.   
They ate in relative silence. It was comfortable, though. Quincey was always fuckin talking, so there was never a nice peaceful meal with him. And other than that... dinners with the Clan, or by himself in his apartment was the only dinners Tora ever had. Eating food in a cozy apartment like this one, with a girl like Poppy, had never crossed his mind. Or, more like, he had never hoped for. Cause he never thought it would happen.   
“Do you want some?” Poppy asked, finally unscrewing the rice wine.   
“... just a little bit.”  
Poppy poured them both a little glass, and she drank hers happily. Did she not get sake a lot? And then he thought about how she did tell him he was eating her out of house and home. Or something like that. He was almost certain she bought something for dessert, too-  
“I also got ice cream for dessert!” She added happily. Tora choked on his sake, and it ended up with Poppy patting his back as he coughed.   
After dinner, Tora washed the dishes as Poppy dried them, and put them where they belonged. It was so mundane, it made Tora’s heart ache. If he wasn’t adopted by Vincent, is this what he could’ve been doing? Going to a nine to five job, coming home to help his girl cook and clean? Going on trips during the weekend, getting married.   
“Tora?”  
His eyes snapped down to her, and she was looking up at him, head tilted. He had stopped washing the bowl, lost in thought.   
“What are you thinking about?” Poppy asked curiously.   
“How fuckin’ weird it is I’m doing dishes in a cute girls apartment,” Tora answered, half honest.   
“Why is that weird?”  
“I never dated no one,” Tora shrugged, finishing the dish and drying his hands.   
“What do you mean?” Poppy said suspiciously. “You’ve never dated?”  
“Never had a girlfriend,” he clarified.   
“I don’t believe you.”   
“I’m not sayin I’m a fuckin’ virgin or something,” Tora clarified, watching Poppy’s cheeks redden. “But Clan shit was always priority.”  
“How long have you been in the clan?” Poppy asked, leaning back against the kitchen counter.   
“Vincent Balthuman adopted me when I was just a runt. So I guess ya could say forever. Before I knew better.”  
“Oh, I didn’t realize...” Poppy blinked, seeming at a loss for words. “I’m sorry, Tora. That’s hard...”  
“I wouldn’t know. It’s all I’ve known.” Tora shrugged, and started out towards the living room. It was getting stuffy in the kitchen. “We gonna watch a movie or paint? Or something with less clothes?”  
“I could put on a movie while we paint,” Poppy said, ignoring the second half of the comment.   
She set up the canvases and paints like she did the other night, and put some girly movie on. Tora found himself more lost in thought as he painted, and so did Poppy. At least is was still a comfortable silence. Tora was worried he may have said too much, but Poppy didn’t seem to think so.   
“Tora, that’s really cool!” Poppy had been watching over his shoulder for a minute, and he looked up at her.   
“Ya like it?”  
“Of course!” She leaned closer to him, and he could smell that coconut shampoo. He had drawn a shark, with lots of little details designs filling up the space of his body. Tora looked up to see Poppy’s, and smiled. The dark tiger in the first seemed done. It had blazing amber eyes, and a lit body, seeing to be walking down from mossy rocks. It was more of a burnt brown orange rather than the usual bright orange, with inky black stripes.   
“Not so bad yerself,” Tora said.   
“I’m not great,” Poppy laughed, shrugging. “You know, I always wanted to be a book editor.”  
“Ya like reading?” Tora said sarcastically, looking at her rows of books with the spines turned in. He stood, going towards them. He made to take one out, and-  
“Y-Yeah, lots of boring books!” Poppy said, tugging at his arm that was holding the book, slightly slid out. “So boring. Not even worth reading!”  
Tora chuckled, pushing the tiny black book back into place. “Not some smutty romance novels?”  
“I would never,” Poppy said, cheeks red.   
Tora grinned, wondering briefly if she had heard of any Quincey’s work. Maybe he could snatch a book from him.  
Poppy poured herself another little glass of sake, and put the canvases out of the way to dry. She hummed in approval, sipping her drink, and returned to the couch.   
“Oh! It’s getting to the good part!” Poppy insisted. Tora rolled his eyes, but went and sat back down next to her, stretching his arm out behind her on the back of the couch. Poppy hopped quickly up, turning the lights off and grabbing the spare blanket Tora had used the night before, and laid it over them.   
Tora could feel his attention waning as the movie progressed. Some fuckin guy all in black, challenging some short guy to a game of wits. Tora found himself zoning out, when he felt Poppy’s hand rest on his thigh. He glanced at her, to see her attention still focused on the movie.   
Blah blah, guy in black rolls down the hill, girl in red dress follows, and they kiss. Poppy sighed, leaning into his side. “I love this movie.”  
“Of course ya do,” Tora said.   
“Have you ever seen it?”  
“Quince made me watch it one time,” Tora shrugged. They had two different definitions of ‘watched,’ but Tora was in the room while it played.   
“Quincey has good taste,” Poppy said, smirking at him. “It’s a favorite movie of mine.”  
“You and the Princess can have girl nights together,” Tora teased.   
“But I’d rather have nights with you.”   
It was Tora’s turn to blush, since she didn’t even look away from him when she said it. She smiled innocently, sipping her sake. How much of that had she drank? Hamster had some balls with a little bit of liquid courage.   
“Oh yeah?” Tora said, dropping his arm to around her shoulders.   
“Shh, Tora! The movie!” And she grinned. Fuckin’ little minx... Tora was already getting turned on, and she sat sipping her sake innocently as she watched the damn movie.   
“How many times have ya seen this?” Tora asked, reaching and pushing her hair back over her shoulder. He watched her swallow anxiously as she said, “A few times.”  
“Only a few?” Tora leaned closer, down to her neck, and brushed his nose against the soft skin.   
“Um, a lot,” She corrected, turning her head.   
“So, you won’t mind if I distract ya?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don’t hate me for this one haha


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smutttttt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the overwhelming amount of comments on the last chapter, I’ll give you THE chapter. If you don’t want to read smut you can skip this chapter all together (: this is just for you nasty peeps ;D (Me included) And end to this story is in sight, I finally have an idea of how I want it to end. I started working on another FF about our Poppy&Tora, but I probably won’t post it until I finish this one up. I put more effort and thought and imagery into it, and longer chapters! So keep an eye out for that one.   
> Thank you to everyone who comments and leaves kudos! 
> 
> All characters belong to Lilydusk

Holy guacamole. Poppy was hyper aware of Tora leaning into her, and she could feel his breath on the skin of her neck. She almost couldn’t speak.   
“I-I guess not,” she said softly.   
“You guess not?” Tora said, pausing.   
“I mean, please distract me,” Poppy said. She could hear Erdene in her mind, thumbs up with a huge grin. (“We’re women with healthy desires. Nothing to be ashamed about, Pops.”) Erdene was going to be proud of her when she told her.   
Poppy felt Tora’s lips on her neck and she could’ve sworn someone lit her on fire. She bit her lip, as Tora’s tongue joined, and it was all she could do not to turn around and pounced on him.   
And then she felt his teeth catch her earlobe, and a moan escaped her. Tora’s other arm slid across her waist, pulling her body against his. She gripped his muscular forearm, tilting her head to the side to expose more sensitive skin to him.   
She could’ve sworn she heard him growl, deep in his throat, and he intertwined his hand into her hair, pulling her back to him.   
Poppy bit her lip, clawing into Tora’s forearm. He was relentless, and Poppy would herself moaning and panting. And he was only on her neck!   
To even the playing field, Poppy reached her free hand under the blankets, finding his thigh. She squeezed, and felt Tora falter. She slid her hand to his inner thigh, going up.   
Suddenly, Tora had grabbed her hips, pulling her into his lap. Poppy squealed at the unexpected movement, grabbing Tora’s shoulders to balance herself.   
Poppy could see Tora’s flushed cheeks in the dim lightly, and smiled down at him breathlessly.   
“Fuck, Bobby,” Tora said, his voice deeper and huskier than she had ever heard before. Just the thought of him saying her name in that tone sent a shiver down her spine.  
Poppy leaned against him, catching his lips. She traced her fingers up into his hair. She couldn’t get over how soft it was. Poppy experimentally gripped some in a handful, and tugged it. Tora moaned, trapping her bottom lip between his teeth, his hands squeezing her hips. His reaction made her eyes roll back, and she rocked her hips down into him. She could feel how hard he was through his shorts.   
Tora trailed kisses down her neck, and to her collar bone. Poppy could do little else other than moan, hands still gripping his hair. She could feel his hands on her sides, slipping under her shirt experimentally. And when she didn’t stop him, he continued up to her bra clasp. Later she would laugh at the thought of how he slightly struggled, and then he reached both hands up and yanked the sides apart, breaking it.   
“Hey! I liked this bra!” Poppy panted, pulling his hair so he had to look up at her.   
Her breath caught in her throat, looking down into his eyes. His mouth was agape, and he was panting. In his eyes there was a hunger, one she had never seen directed at her before.   
“I’ll get ya a new one,” he promised. The slight interruption seemed to have cleared his head a little. “Ya good? Still wanna keep going?”  
“Yes,” Poppy said without hesitation, and she saw his smirk as he started pulling her shirt up. Poppy raised her arms, and both the shirt and what was left of the bra slid off.   
Almost instantly, Tora’s mouth found her nipple, and she clawed into his shoulders, face in his hair, as he gently sucked on it. His other hand came up and grabbed her other breast, and commenced rolling her other nipple delicately.   
“Tora, Tora,” Poppy panted, rocking her hips into him. This alone she could get off on, but she really wanted to get him undressed.   
Tora withdrew his mouth, and blew on her nipple. “Yeah, sweetheart?”  
Poppy swallowed. “Bedroom?”  
Tora’s eyes snapped up to hers again, and smiled breathlessly. “As you command.” Tora grabbed her ass, and stood. Poppy wrapped her arms around his neck, squeaking in surprise. Tora kicked her door open all the way, and gently laid her down on her bed. As he made to crawl on top of her, Poppy held her finger up.   
“You’re over dressed,” Poppy stated. Tora stopped, and straightened, letting Poppy scoot back down to the end of the bed, and reached up to his shirt. Shyly, Poppy slipped her hands under his shirt, and could feel his strong stomach muscles. Going to his sides, her fingers trailed the V cut, to where it dipped down under his pant line. Tora, already impatient it seemed, slipped his shirt off.   
Holy guacamole, Poppy thought again. while the tank top from last night left little to the imagination, seeing his bare torso was something else. The tattoos that led to his chest, his muscular body, standing there in just pants and looking down at Poppy in a way that said he wanted to consume her... Poppy had never seen such a glorious sight.   
That is.. Poppy trailed her eyes down his body, and saw the bulge in his pants. He was as turned on as she was. Poppy shyly undid the button of his pants, and yanked the zipped down. Tora then slowly reached up, and slid his pants down his hips, and let them drop to the floor.   
Oh. His dick was bigger than she thought possible. She nervously reached up, gripping it. She glanced up to see that Tora bit his lip. The sight was enough for Poppy to feel her arousal pool between her legs.   
Before Poppy could even try to put him in her mouth, he crouched, pushing her lightly back onto her bed. Tora mouth trailed down from her collarbone, to her nipple briefly, and then lower. Poppy could feel his fingers slip under her pant line, and pulled both her shorts and panties down.   
“Tora,” she moaned, feeling his mouth just below her navel. He grabbed her thigh as his mouth travelled lower, and Poppy gripped her sheets in both hands.   
He pulled her thigh up, putting it over one broad shoulder. And then his mouth found her sensitive sex, and swirled his tongue around her clit.   
Poppy immediately gasped, back arching. She had never felt so much pleasure and need at the same time. Her legs were already shaking, and Tora was relentless. He pushed the one leg that wasn’t over his should over more, exposing her further. Tora pulled his mouth away, and Poppy could’ve wailed. He looked up at her, and slowly brought his middle finger to his mouth, and sucked on it. Poppy didn’t think she had ever seen something so hot. He replaced his mouth on her clit, and felt him insert his finger slowly. Poppy tensed her thighs, not prepared for the assault on her.   
She raised her hand, gripping a handful of his hair again, bucking her hips up, moaning his name again and again.   
“Tora!” She moaned. “Tora, I’m gonna...”   
Tora hummed, tilting his head, still fingering her nice and steady, and suckled on her clit.   
Poppy exploded.   
She held Tora’s head right where it was. And he rode her through her orgasm. When she finally relaxed, he gently withdrew his finger, and mouth. Poppy was still panting when he crouched above her, kissing her cheek gently.   
“Tora,” she gasped. “Oh, damn.”  
“Woah, good enough to make you cuss?” Tora teased lightly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
“You, should,” Poppy said breathlessly, wiping the sweat from her brow. Tora made to lay down next to her, and she looked at him confused. “What are you doing?”  
“Don’t.... don’t you need a minute?” Tora leaned his head on his hand, eyes focused intently on her. “You came pretty hard, wasn’t sure if your still sensitive.”  
“I’m good,” Poppy assured, sitting up. Tora grinned in surprise as he rolled to his back, so she could straddle him. Tora reached down between them, gripping his own self, and started going up and down. Poppy put her own hand above his, and followed his movements until he dropped his hand, gripping her thighs instead.   
Again, when Poppy thought about shimmying down so she could return the favor, Tora moaned. “Fuck, Poppy. I fuckin’ want ya.”  
Poppy nodded, slightly nervous now. It had been awhile, and Tora was so unbelievably big. But she was so turned on it was only a moments concern.   
“Oh!” Poppy reached over to her night stand, opening the drawer. She pulled out a condom, ripping it open. Tora watched her as she pinched the tip, and rolled it down the full length of him. Okay, good. She had gotten the right size. (“I know Erdene said he was probs big, but XL? Just to be safe I’ll get both.”)  
She positioned herself over him, hand on his chest, the other on his dick, and pressed down lightly.   
Oh. Oh. Poppy quivered, slowly going up and down, taking him in a bit more little by little. Tora was panting by the time she settled all of him in her. Poppy could already feel herself wanting to orgasm again.   
Tora cupped her ass, and moaned as she started rocking her hips. After a few moments, she felt him shift, moving his hips to meet her movements. Sooner rather than later, they were both panting and moaning, until Poppy collapsed onto Tora’s chest.   
Tora grabbed the back of her head, kissing her hard, tongue exploring her mouth. He pulled back just enough, their breath mingling, and asked, “you gonna come again?”  
Poppy couldn’t speak, so she nodded, biting her lip. Tora pushed her slightly up, so her hands were on the pillows above his head. Cupping her breasts, he sucked a nipple in his mouth, one hand on the other breast, and the other on her ass, keeping the pace she was setting.   
Poppy could feel it building up. She had never been able to come without touching herself, but the way Tora was looking up at her and sucking on her tit, she could tell there was a first time for everything.   
“T-Tora,” she moaned, going faster. Tora kept up with her, not stopping in anything he was doing to her. “I’m-I’m-I’m-“ she couldn’t finish. Poppy felt herself going over the edge, coming so hard she couldn’t even moan. Tora kept on, rocking his hips up slowly, swirling his tongue around his nipple, and watching her face as she orgasmed.   
She collapsed on top of him, trying to catch her breath. She had never come so hard in her life, nonetheless twice. All of a sudden Poppy felt bad for whatever that girl’s name was who was with Julri.   
Poppy felt Tora nuzzle into her hair, his hands kneading her ass. She could faintly feel his dick twitching. Poppy pushed herself back up. “You want to be on top?”  
Before she could even finish, he had flipped her over, crouching over her. Tora kissed her eagerly, slowly pushing his dick into her again. Poppy moaned, gripping his shoulders.   
“Fuck, Poppy,” Tora moaned into her ear. “You’re gonna make me come so fuckin’ fast.”  
Poppy nodded in encouragement, wrapping her legs around him. She felt him nibble on her neck again, and Poppy arched her back up against him. He grabbed her hips, holding her down, his thrusts becoming harder and faster.   
Poppy opened her eyes, to see him looking down at her. She reached up, pinching her own nipples, and moaned.   
“T-Tora...” she moaned.   
“Fuck,” was the last thing Poppy heard before Tora finished. He stopped thrusting, just pushing so far into her it was almost painful. At long last, Tora laid down on top of her, panting. Poppy kissed his cheek tenderly, rubbing small circles on his ribs.   
Finally, he looked up at her, kissing her deeply as he pulled out of her. Poppy already missed the feeling.   
Poppy sat up, legs wobbling already, and pushed her hair back. They both walked unsteadily to the bathroom, where Tora took the condom off and tied the end, dropping it into the trash. Poppy tied her hair back, starting the shower.   
They showered in comfortable silence, and afterwards collapsed into bed, falling into peaceful sleep.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora finally gets to tattoo again

Poppy woke up to the sound of one of their phones going off in the other room. Poppy rubbed her eyes and yawned, and she felt the arm around her waist tighten, pulled her flush against Tora. She was the little spoon, and she fit so perfectly against Tora.   
Poppy smiled, wiggling back further against him.   
“Careful,” she heard him growl lightly in her ear. “Don’t start what ya can’t finish.”  
Poppy turned over so she could look at him, and his eyes were still half closed with sleep. The phone finally quit ringing, and she realized it was probably Tora’s. Looking at the man, Poppy remembered how last night had gone, and she could feel the light blush on her face. She rested her forehead against his, and he reached out to peck her once.   
“What’s your schedule for today?” She asked, using her finger to trace the tattoos on his chest.   
“Depends on who that phone call was from,” he said, closing his eyes again. “I’m supposed to tattoo some kid for six hours today.”  
“Wow,” Poppy blinked. “That’s a long time. Doesn’t it hurt?”  
Tora shrugged lazily. “‘It’s not his first one.” Poppy trailed her fingers up to touch the Balthuman crest on his neck, and at this his eyes flickered open. He watched her intently, and Poppy suddenly felt shy.   
“Does everyone get the crest on their necks?” Poppy asked curiously. Seemed like a quick way to identify them.   
“Quince has it on his chest,” Tora mused. “But a lot of guys, yeah.”  
This time, it was Poppy’s distinct alarm that went off. They had both left their phones out in the living room. Poppy reluctantly got out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she went and turned it off. She brought Tora’s phone to him, and he was checking it as she pulled out some clothes.   
She heard Tora stand up, and looked over her shoulder to admire him. He was shirtless, with just those grey joggers on, low on his hips. How was this man so darn attractive? And it wasn’t just his body Poppy either (though it was a plus), she genuinely liked who he was as a person. He was staring intently at his phone as she studied him.   
“Everything okay?” Poppy asked, head tilted as she grabbed a pair of jeans.   
Tora looked up at Poppy. “Yeah, everything is fine. Gonna be late to work, though.”  
Poppy decided that was his Clan Business voice. Not particularly answering the question, and she knew the only thing he wouldn’t inform her of is the inner details of Clan stuff.   
Poppy changed quickly as Tora went and had a smoke on her balcony. Oh gosh, how was it already that late? She had to be at the flower shop in twenty, and it was a ten minute drive.   
Quickly, she brushed her teeth, and hair, and pulled her shoes on.   
“Tora!” She called, and was surprised to see him come out of her room, already dressed in jeans and a blue and black long sleeve shirt. He reached up and ruffled her hair.   
“Cute,” he said, smiling.   
Poppy blushed. “I-I gotta get to work.”  
“Of course, sweetheart. I’ll see ya later,” he assured. What the definition of later was Poppy wasn’t sure. Would he want a break from her? Did Poppy need a night? Memories of last night resurfaced, and she decided she didn’t need to even consider if she wanted another night. She wanted all the nights.   
They walked out together, and Tora opened her car door for her. After she got in, he leaned his arm against her car, ducking his head, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.   
“Is... is that it?” She asked innocently, blinking up at him. He smiled, and leaned towards her again until their lips met. While most of their kisses were needy and filled with passion, this one was gentle and chaste. She liked either.   
“I’ll text ya,” Tora promised, straightening.   
“Okay, I’ll see you,” Poppy agreed. And then she shut her door and hurried to work. 

Tora entered Vincent’s office, and instantly he could tell he was in a mood. Half a bottle of whiskey sat next to him, and he had a full glass, on the rocks.   
“Tora,” Vincent said evenly, and Tora could hear the strain. “I wanted to talk to you, my boy.”  
“What’s up?” Tora opted to lean against the wall, lighting a cigarette.  
Vincent smiled tensely, standing. “Well, it’s come to my attention that there’s a... notebook.” His eyes were focused on Tora so intently, trying to see some telltale sign that Tora was already aware of such a thing.   
“So?” Tora blew the smoke from his nose. “Why is a fuckin’ notebook so important?”  
“Well, it seems to have some very worrisome things in it,” Vincent further explained, pacing. That was a bad sign. He was more worried about it than he was saying. Tora stayed where he was, keeping relaxed.   
“Ya want me to get it?” Tora asked simply. “Who has it?”  
“That’s the thing, Tora,” Vincent said, taking a deep gulp of his drink. “Word is that Goliath is the writer.”  
Tora stared at Vincent over his cigarette, seeming indifferent. “I don’t even know where that fucker is.” Which wasn’t a lie.   
“He hasn’t tried getting in contact with you?” Vincent pressed, pouring more whiskey into his glass.   
“Got a weird voicemail from him, but haven’t heard from him since,” Tora explained. “Didn’t say anything about a fuckin’ notebook.”  
“What did the voicemail say?”  
“How he was in fuckin trouble,” Tora said, and shrugged. Goliath was always in trouble. Always had been from a kid. Tora couldn’t count the times he had saved his fuckin kid brother from predicaments he had gotten himself into. Age didn’t change much at all.   
“That’s it?” Vincent presses, approaching him. “That’s all he said?”  
“A bunch of cussing, but yeah,” Tora nodded. “All he said. And then it cut out. Tried callin’ him back but he never answered.”  
“Let me know if he does,” Vincent commanded. “And definitely look for him, please. And any information you can find on what the contents exactly are in this notebook, if it’s a real thing.”  
Tora had his doubts about it, too. Was it a real thing? Or was that fucker playing with fire? Definitely the latter, with or without the notebook. Tora would be interested to see what was inside, to see just how far his brother got down the rabbit hole before it bit him in the ass.   
“Also, new kid needs his tattoo.”  
“Fuck, today?”   
“Yes, Tora. Today.”  
“Tell him to come by at five. I got a big piece today,” Tora answered, walking over to the ash tray on the table and crushing the cigarette out. He started out of the room, thinking the conversation had some to a close, when Vincent called out his name. Tora stopped, looking over his shoulder at him.   
“Please don’t leave at dinner again so soon.” Underlying tone of a threat was evident, and by the grip on his class he was definitely angrier than he was showing. “I don’t get to see you that often now that you opened up that tattoo shop. So when I want dinner with all my boys, I mean all of you.”  
Tora nodded shortly, clenching his teeth, and pushed the door open and left. Seeing Vincent always left a bad taste in his mouth, but with him being so commanding and panicky it was more evident. There was a smoothie shop right next to the animal shelter, he could probably stop and grab a drink.   
So he dropped his car off at his apartment, and walked briskly to the smoothie shop, and stopped next door to the shelter. The front desk lady fished upon seeing him, inquiring as to why she hadn’t seen him for the past day or two. She had always seemed to talk to him a little too much, but she was the most efficient. She always had the sign out form ready for him, and she always had a dog in mind for him to borrow for the day.   
She brought out an older black and brown Doberman. Tora took the leash, crouching, and gently scratched under her chin. She gently licked his hand back, her stub tail wagging.   
“Her name is...” she glanced at the dog’s chart. “Ruby. She’s a good girl.”  
“Alright,” Tora nodded, and clicked his tongue and they started out of the shelter. Ruby seemed so happy to get out, sniffing at everything and nuzzling Tora’s hand. He smiled, patting her side.   
They quickly got to the tattoo parlor, and Tora’s six hour appointment was waiting outside for him. Ruby greeted the kid and he scratched her ears as Tora unlocked the door.   
Tora showed Ruby where she was to hang out, and Tora got down to business. Pouring his inks, getting everything ready. The kid was a little nervous - he was getting a piece on his ribs - but otherwise hardly moved as Tora tattooed. It was nice getting back into it. Much more his regular speed, compared to the usual the past few days. He had gotten spoiled with not doing as much Clan work.   
Tora finished off a line on the dragon, and sat back. “Alright, kid. Break time.”  
The kid nodded in agreement, reaching over for his water bottle. Tora got up and took Ruby’s leash, and took her outside across the street while he had a smoke. Looking over at the flower shop, he saw they were fairly busy. It was a gorgeous day, and he figured that probably brought them more business.   
Ruby did her business, and Tora went back into the shop after crushing his cigarette. They were about through when Tora heard the shop door open. Fuck. He was hoping he would get this kid done before They showed up.   
“Big Bro!” He heard someone call out. Tora didn’t answer, and the kid he was tattooing looked down quizzically at him. In his peripheral, he saw someone poke his head it. They had the smarts to at least retreat, and he heard them make themselves at home in the waiting room.   
Forty five minutes later Tora finished the dragon. It was a nice piece, with just black and white highlights, of a dragon going up the kid’s ribs. He added a touch of orange in its eyes, and it looked pretty good.   
“Leave the wrap on till tonight, and shower. Don’t put soap on it or anything.” Tora taped the edges of the Saran Wrap to his skin. “Come see me in six weeks and we can do some touch ups.”  
“Thank you so much!” He smiled happily in the mirror, arm up. “I love it.”  
“I’m glad,” Tora said genuinely. Tora led him out to the front desk, where unsurprisingly the front was packed. Anytime someone got a Balthuman Crest, they always had to turn it into a fuckin’ party.   
The kid looked around nervously, and Tora took his payment quickly so he could send him on his way. The kid cautiously weaves between the members, and hurried out.   
“Big Bro!” Some guy said happily. “Long time no see.”  
“The fuck are you?” Tora said indifferently, walking to the back again to grab Ruby.   
The guys laughed, and moved aside as Tora led Ruby out. He took a longer smoke break than usual, wanting more than anything to go walk into the flower shop rather than his shop.   
Walking back in, the guys were passing around a few drinks.   
“Who the fuck is getting tattooed?” Tora asked, reaching behind his counter for the dog treats he had stored away. Ruby took it happily, licking any of the crumbs off his fingers.   
“Me!” A guy stood up, hands in his pockets.   
“Fuck ya waiting for,” Tora motioned his head to the back room. “Go sit down.”  
The group mingled, some coming to the back to bullshit, the others staying in the front.   
While Tora had been in the Clan his entire life, he didn’t know hardly anyone in it. The higher up members, sure. But he didn’t hang out with them. His boys he knew the names of, and that was about it. The only ones he considered his friends were Quincey and Gyu.   
Tora sketched the symbol out, and got his fresh inks ready. The kid was gripping the chair arms a little nervously, but was putting on a brave face for his buddies.   
“Big Bro Tora!” He looked up, surprised to see Gyu hurrying in.  
“Gyu!” Everyone greeted. The man laughed, waving, saying he had just got off his shift from the bar down the street.   
Gyu whistled as he came to look over Tora’s shoulder. “That’s gonna be a doozy, JD!”  
“Shit, Gyu,” the kid in the chair laughed. “Don’t tell me that.”  
“Hey, Gyu,” Tora said, looking at the man. “Stay after. We gotta talk.”  
By the look in his eyes, Gyu knew exactly what Tora wanted to talk about. He smiled nervously and nodded, scratching the back of his head.   
“Yeah, okay, Big Bro,” Gyu agreed.   
It took roughly two hours to finish the tattoo. The kid - JD - was a bit of a bitch about it, but whatever. He was definitely gonna need to come in again to get the black recolored.   
And by that time, all the boys were drunk. Tora kicked them all out, shutting and locking the door behind them. And then he rounded on Gyu.   
“Hey, Tora,” Gyu said, palms out. “Look, I didn’t know Goliath was gonna go crazy with it.”  
“What else would he do,” Tora growled, going to go clean up his work station. He needed to get Ruby back, they were about to close.   
“Look, I didn’t realize he would go waving it around without a back up plan,” Gyu assured. “We were just gonna use it as leverage, but then Goliath had to add all the Balthuman dirt in there, too. I didn’t help him with that.”  
“Have ya heard from him?”  
“Not for a few days, no,” he shook his head. “I’ll let him know you’re lookin’ for him if I do hear from him.”  
“Thanks.”


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy ends in a... predicament

Poppy was gonna go say hi to Tora after work, but when she peeked in she saw it was completely full. Clan members? She assumed it was correct. Why else would there be so many?  
She decided she would just send Tora a text. He was probably tired of her by now, being constantly together it seemed.  
Luckily, she had food at home so it was just a straight shot home. Good. She was tired. She slept well last night, but definitely not long enough. She wondered if she could ever get tired of waking up in Tora’s arms.  
No, definitely not.  
Poppy undressed, and quickly rinsed off before putting on her pajamas. Work had been good, but it was always nice to wash the day off.  
‘Oh! I forgot to tell Erdene!’ Poppy remembered, and grabbed her cell phone. It had been busy, and they hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk. And when they did, customers were always around so she couldn’t just say out loud she had gotten laid.  
Erdene picked up on the second ring. “What’s up, Pops?”  
“Dene! I forgot to tell you something at work!” Poppy said, already predicting her friends reaction. And then she whispered as if anyone else could hear them, “Tora and I... did the deed.”  
The scream on the other end of the line would be the cause of Poppy’s need for hearing aids. “Poppylan, you little vixen you! Hell yeah, girl! How was it? Did he last long? How big was his di-“  
“Erdene!” Poppy laughed. The girls talked about it, Erdene dragging out any details. Poppy was probably going to be permanently red in the face after it. Though, since it was already on her mind... she went to go grab one of her books. It was an author she was fond of, but didn’t have many of her works. It was a murder mystery romance, and one of her favorites.  
Poppy sat down, and opened the book, and had just gotten through the first page when she heard a knock on the door.  
Who could that be? She was expecting anyone. Hopefully it was Tora, now that he was done for the day. It had been a couple hours, and that seemed like enough time.  
Admittedly, and she had never told Tora, she was too darn short to look out the key hole. She could just barley, if she stood on her tip toes, but she could never make out who it was.  
Poppy opened the door, and froze.  
“Hey, sugar,” Scharch said, hand on her door. He shoved it open, pushing Poppy back.  
Oh shit oh shit oh shit.  
“I need you to leave,” Poppy said evenly. Even she was impressed at how she didn’t sound panicked.  
“Why? I just got here,” Scharch said smoothly, closing her door behind him. “That’s not very nice of ya.”  
Her tazor was in her purse in the kitchen. If she could just run quick enough... Could she make it? He was in the same Clan as Tora. He had to be strong and fast. And watching him Poppy was reminded of videos she saw in high school of a wolf, hunting.  
“Tora’s going to pick me up soon,” Poppy continued. “I don’t think he would be happy about you being here.”  
“Strange. My boy is getting tattooed by him...” Scharch turned around. “And he just texted me twenty minutes ago that Tora just started.”  
Poppy could feel her core shaking. This man was not like that other guy. No, Scharch radiated dark vibes. Killer vibes. He had moved away from the door, had gone over to look at her rows of books. But he did lock the door. When did he do that? Poppy must’ve been too nervous and focused on him to realize he had locked it. Scharch turned back to her, and made to come towards her.  
Now or never.  
Poppy turned, darting into her kitchen. Right before she could reach her purse, she felt Scharch grab the back of her neck, and yank her back.  
Poppy screamed, and Scharch pulled a long strip of clothes from his pocket. He wrapped it around her, forcing it in her mouth, and tied it tight. When he didn’t stop, he smacked her across the face.  
Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit-  
“Now,” Scharch said, yanking her up from the floor, against him. He leaned down so his mouth was right by her ear. “Where is that fucker Goliath?”  
Poppy shook her head. He shook her. “You will tell me. We’re gonna go downstairs, to my car, and you’re gonna be a good girl, okay? If you just do what I say, you’ll be fine. I won’t hurt ya. Unless you make me angry.”  
Poppy tried speaking, but it was muffled. He looked at her, debating if he wanted to know. And then he shrugged, yanking her to her feet.  
Poppy tried putting away from him, until she felt something press against her back. She froze.  
“Yeah, you know what that is,” Scharch chuckled darkly. “Now let’s get to the car without a fuckin problem or I’ll blow your spinal column out. Okay?”  
Poppy nodded reluctantly. Scharch walked calmly behind her, and lucky for him there was no one in sight as they went to his car. Of course. Did no one live in this apartment building? And no security guard either.  
Scharch opened his door, looking so nonchalant, and sat her down in the back seat. He made her turn around, and used some handcuffs he had in the back. Once they were a little too tight, he made sure the car door child locks were on and got in the front seat.  
Poppy was angry at the tears spilling down her face. She was terrified, and just so angry. She shouldn’t have opened the door. Then again, she had a feeling even if she didn’t, Scharch knew she was home, and he would’ve broken in anyways. One way or another.  
His car windows were almost illegally tinted, since no one seemed to spare the car a second glance as they rushed through town. Her only hope was that he would get pulled over.  
He didn’t.  
After about forty minutes, Scharch was pulling into a gated home. He swiftly punched in the gate code, and it swung open slowly.  
The garage was under ground, and an older man met Scharch in there. The redhead got out, shooting a glare back at her, and went to talk to the other man.  
They talked for awhile, shooting looks over at Poppy frequently. Her mouth was getting dry, and her arms hurt so badly. She wanted to go back to a few days ago, cuddling with Tora on her bed in the living room. Would they be able to do that again?  
At long last, Scharch came to fetch Poppy. He took her tightly by the shoulder (as if she had anywhere else to run) and they passed the other man. He also had a Balthuman Crest on his neck.  
“You know if Vincent doesn’t like this, Tora will kill you,” the older man warned.  
Scharch laughed. “Vincent’s gonna like it. Just watch.”  
The house they took her into was a older type fancy. You know. With the gigantic art work, the statues everywhere. Mahogany. Definitely old, rich type feel. Wait, Vincent? Like Quincey’s dad?  
They came up to a set of double wooden doors, and Scharch knocked. There was a ‘Come in,’ and he turned the knob.  
It was a study, of sorts. Biggest study Poppy had ever seen, that was for sure. Books lined the shelves, and there was a fire place with a round stone coffee table. And there sat a man, and she could see the family resemblance. He had Quincey’s devilishly good looks, but his eyes were dead.  
Vincent looked at them, frowning. “Scharch. What’s this?”  
“Poppylan Wilkes,” Scharch said. “Tora’s girl.”  
“I didn’t realize he had a girlfriend,” Vincent said, standing, glass of whiskey in hand. “And please do tell me why you’ve brought her to me in such... distress.”  
“Goliath showed up to her house the other night,” Scharch’s said, and Poppy saw that wicked grin. “While Tora was there.”  
Vincent paused, and his shift went from Poppy to Scharch, and finally landed on Poppy. She felt her knees shake.  
“Well, if that’s all, please release her!” Vincent said, turning to go sit back down again.  
Scharch seemed stunned. “Mr. Balthuman-“  
“Release her, Scharch,” Vincent commanded. The redhead did so roughly, and Poppy herself ripped the binding off. In a fury, she rounded on him and spit in his face.  
Poppy closed her eyes as she saw Scharch raise his hand to backhand her, but stopped as Vincent laughed.  
“No wonder Tora likes this girl,” Vincent seemed very amused. “Spitfire. Now, Miss Wilkes, if you will come over here and sit down with me.”  
Poppy didn’t move for a second. Then again, she ran over her options at the moment. Well, not options. She only had two: sit down, or not and make Vincent possibly angry and land her in deeper waters.  
Shakily, she walked to the other leather chair, and sat hesitantly. Vincent slowly refilled his whiskey, and added a couple of ice cubes, before sitting back and inspecting her.  
“I’m sorry about Scharch,” He begun. “He’s always been... a little rough.”  
Scharch shoved his hands in his pockets, red creeping up his neck.  
“So,” Vincent continues when Poppy declines to reply. “You met Goliath, he’s saying.”  
Poppy didn’t know what to say. Yes, and try to stay as close to the truth as possible? Or lie? But why would Scharch claim something like that without proof? Did he have pictures of Goliath coming in or out of her apartment? If she was caught in the lie, her good graces (already very unsteady but still good) with Vincent would be dispelled.  
She decided the safer course.  
“H-He did,” She confirmed. “But-t he was hurt. He showered and left. And then he left, even Tora doesn’t know where he is.”  
Vincent was swirling his drink, and took a thoughtful sip. He seemed thoughtful for awhile, Scharch and the other man silent in the corner.  
Finally, Vincent went, “Martin? Can you call Tora. Tell him to come to me.”  
“No!” It was out of Poppy’s mouth before she could stop herself. All three men looked surprised at the outburst, and she could see Vincent’s mouth twitch.  
“What?” Vincent said, his tone a shade darker.  
“Tora doesn’t know where he is,” she insisted. “He was really beat up. When Goliath showed up at my apartment he could barley walk!”  
“At this moment, Miss Wilkes, it’s Clan business,” Vincent said evenly. He waved at Martin. “Take her to go wash up while we get things settled, Martin.”  
“Mr. Balthuman,” Poppy said, standing abruptly. “Whatever it is you want-“  
“You cannot give to me,” Vincent interrupted. “Now, please behave. There will be no harm to you, so please go relax in my other room.”  
In the end Martin had to restrain her, and carried her all the way to the other room. He threw her none to gently in, and quickly closed it, and Poppy heard the resounding click behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the last chapter was pretty boring heres a little spice! I think I’m about to wrap this story up! It’ll be my first ever finished fanfiction. It’s looking like three more chapters left? Maybe more, maybe less. 
> 
> All characters belong to Lilydusk
> 
> Ps: Happy Birthday to J1408! Hope this is exciting enough for ya, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday (:


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent gives Tora a time limit, and Goliath has to come up with a plan

Tora pulled up to Poppy’s apartment. He had texted her just before dropping Ruby off, and she had yet to respond. He wasn’t sure if she wanted him to come over or not.   
He sat in his car, debating. The thought of last night resurfaced, and he decided he would risk rejection if he got to do that again.   
Walking up, he knocked on her door. And waited. And waited. He didn’t even hear any movement inside. He banged again, louder. Was she asleep? No, there was no way she would sleep through that knock. Her car was in the drive way.   
Slightly panicking, he tried the door knob.   
It opened, and the door swung inwards.   
Tora entered slowly. “Poppy.” He called. No answer. Venturing in, he stepped on something. Her carpet corner had been flipped over. Tora nudged it back with his foot. Maybe she went for a walk?  
Venturing into the kitchen, he saw her purse and phone there on the counter. Tora’s heart stopped.   
Tora ran down to his car, his blood already boiling. If he saw that red headed creep he was going to kill him with his bare hands-  
He felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out, and stopped.   
‘Your girlfriend is here. Vincent wants to see you.’ From Martin.   
With no hesitation, Tora went to Vincent. A dog fuckin knew when it was in deep shit. Why did they have Poppy? Did Scharch grab her while he was at work? Of course, when else was Tora not at her side the past few days. He was too angry to even smoke.   
But why would Scharch take her to Vincent? What was the point in that? He was trying to figure that out, on top of plan something for when he got there.   
Tora didn’t pull into the garage. He drove around to the front door, and screeched to a stop.   
Walking up those stairs felt like he was going to a guillotine.   
Tora already knew where they were. He took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop pounding out of his chest.   
Swallowing, he pushed the door open. They all stopped talking. Martin was sitting across from Vincent, and Scharch was standing a little off to the side. All eyes snapped to him.   
Nonchalantly, he leaned back against one of the granite columns in the room. “So, where’s Poppy?”  
“Tora, my boy,” Vincent said, standing up. Not many could tell, but Tora saw the fuming rage pouring off Vincent. He was past angry: he was full of rage. “Come, sit down.”  
“I’m good.”  
“How’s your brother?” Vincent asked instead, walking towards him, hands behind his back.   
Tora shrugged. “Wouldn’t know.”  
“I’ve heard different,” Vincent said, and motioned to Scharch. “Scharch here saw him leaving Miss Wilkes apartment.”  
“Is that so?”  
“Cut the shit, Tora,” Martin said angrily, standing. “Your little bitch already admitted to him being there.”  
Tora wanted to bash Martin’s skull into the ground. “Half dead. Didn’t have the notebook on him. And then the first time he was outta my sight, he ran.”  
“Why didn’t you bring him to me, Tora?” Vincent’s voice was almost shaking. Almost.   
“He didn’t have it on him,” Tora said again. “And he won’t fuckin squeal. Figured I could wait till I caught him with it. Take it from him.”  
“That would’ve been for me to decide!” Vincent suddenly screamed, coming inches from Tora’s face. He jabbed a finger into Tora’s chest. “You are my dog! Mine! You don’t take away those decisions from me!”  
Tora looked down at him evenly. “Won’t make that mistake again.”  
Vincent clawed his hair back out of his face, stalking back to get his drink from the table. Filling the rest of it down, he pulled her back back and shattered it down against the floor.   
“Find your brother,” Vincent commanded, without looking away from the fire. “The girl stays here until you do.”  
“Let her go,” Tora said, hands shaking. “And I will bring you the notebook. No more delays.”  
“You are in no position to barter with me, Tora,” Vincent said, his volume rising till he screamed Tora’s name. “Bring me the fucking notebook, and the longer it takes, the longer Scharch has with your bitch.”  
Scharch grinned evilly from his corner, obviously excited at the prospect.   
If Scharch and Martin didn’t have their guns...  
“Okay. Okay. I’ll get this fucking notebook. But leave Poppy out of this.”  
Somehow, even with Tora being taller, Vincent managed to look down his nose at him.   
“Make it quick.”

“Gyu.”  
“Big Bro Tora, what-“  
“Where’s Goliath.”  
“I told you I didn’t know.”  
“Get on your computer shit and track him or whatever it is that you do.”  
“... do you have his number?”  
Tora hung up, and texted Gyu the latest number of Goliath’s he had. Hopefully the fucker still had it. Or Tora would be tearing apart Narin city.   
Tora was shaking in his car. He should’ve never talked to her. He should’ve kept that light untouched. Nothing but tragic ending for those who worked in the fucking mafia, and Tora knew that and he took that risk. What he was losing was not worth that gamble.   
After taking a deep breath, he shifted the car in drive and started to Gyu. He wasn’t sure how long that shit took, but if anyone could do it quickly it was Gyu. Even if he claimed he couldn’t to most people.   
Tora was surprised when he felt his phone vibrate. He quickly read the message, surprised, and swerved into the next lane and into an alley. A horn honked behind him.   
Luckily, it was a lot closer than he thought. And the area it was in... and he knew where his brother either was or was going. 

Tora pulled up to Poppy’s apartment. The last ping on his phone came from a cell tower here, according to Gyu.   
Why would Goliath be here?  
Tora walked silently, heading up towards Poppy’s apartment. How different it was coming here twice, expecting different outcomes.   
Tora came to Poppy’s door, trying to listen for anything on the other side. It was dark out, and he thought he could see the smallest sliver of light along the doorway. Did he turn the lights out? He didn’t remember.   
Tora turned the door knob slowly, and instantly recognized Goliath’s back. The door swung open the rest of the way, and Tora stepped in. Using his boot, he slammed it shut.   
Goliath jumped where he was, looking at all of Poppy’s spine inward books. He whipped around, gun in hand. And relaxed when he recognized Tora.   
“For fucks sake, you scared the shit out of me,” Goliath said, voice a tad shaky.   
“What are you doing, Goliath,” Tora growled, stalking forward.   
“I was waiting for you two, of course,” he said, tucking his gun behind him.   
“We’re brothers. I can tell when you’re lying,” Tora said matter of factly. He approached the books, and Goliath turned away, as if he wasn’t studying them hard.   
“What are ya lookin’ for,” Tora asked, leaning against the shelf. “Don’t lie to me. I’ve had a rough fuckin day.”  
“Tell me ‘bout it,” Goliath grumbled, and looked back to his brother. His eyes were still darkly bruised, and his hand wrapped up. “Okay, don’t get mad.” They looked at each other until Goliath sighed. “You’re gonna be PISSED. Okay, look. When you and your girl were outside makin’ heart eyes at each other I slipped that notebook into her books-“  
Tora had his little brother by the jaw in a flash. “You what?”  
“No one fuckin’ knew it was here!” Goliath growled, trying to get his brother to release him. “I came back to get it! There, so she wouldn’t be in danger.”  
Tora pushes him away, and started pulling the books down so he could see their covers. Goliath stood there uneasily. “Wait, where is the girl?”  
“At Vincent’s,” Tora said darkly.   
Realization dawned on Goliath’s face, and he fumbled to stop his brother with his one good hand. “Wait, wait, wait-! Bro!”  
“Don’t fuckin start with me, Goliath,” Tora growled, shoving his brother away. “You got us into this mess. Vincent will kill Poppy.”  
Finally, Tora pulled out a little book not like the rest. And the look on Goliath’s face confirmed what it was.   
The damn notebook. So much fucking trouble for such a little thing.   
“W-Wait,” Goliath said, breathing heavy. “Tora. Tora, give it to me.”  
“No.”  
“I have a plan,” Goliath said, almost shaking. “We both get what we want.”  
“I don’t trust ya. Especially after all this shit you pulled,” Tora growled, gripping the notebook and turning to leave. The sooner he could get to Vincent, the better. Poppy could go on living her life, without him in it.   
... it was probably for the best, for her.   
“Fuck, Tora!” Goliath shouted. Tora paused in the doorway. “I don’t wanna lose ya, either. Give me a few hours, I’ll figure out something.”  
“Don’t got that long, kid,” Tora shook his head.   
“Fine, fine. Just... give me an hour. That’s not much, Big Bro. I’ll sit in ya car, even. I can get us outta this. I know it.”  
Tora wanted to break something. Instead, he lit a cigarette. “You got one hour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still writing the next chapter so if it’s not posted early morning tomorrow don’t freak out haha.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the face off between Vincent and Goliath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is the last chapter 🤯 There’s a short little epilogue that I’m going to post right after this, and that will be the conclusion of this story

Tora pulled up slowly to Vincent’s mansion. Goliath was shaking next to him, but he was taking deep breaths. Even seeing him so nervous was strange. Goliath was a master actor. And hopefully for his sake this would be his best show yet.   
Goliath took a steadying breath. “Okay. Let’s do this.”  
Tora walked around the side, grabbing his brother by the collar and dragging him out of his car. Goliath hissed, limping along next to him.   
Tora went straight to the previous room. He kicked open the door, to find Martin and Vincent playing a game of chess. They both jumped, Martin reaching for his gun.   
Tora threw Goliath on the floor at their feet.   
“You found him,” Vincent said, almost in disbelief. His cold eyes slid up to Tora. “And the notebook...?”  
Tora reached into his back pocket, and held it up. Vincent reaches his hand out for it, and Tora pulled it back. “Poppy. Where is she?”  
“Give me the notebook, and you can see her,” Vincent said darkly.   
“I wanna make sure she’s okay,” Tora said as indifferently as he could.   
Vincent nodded, motioning to the corner. Scharch melted from the shadows, walking out to presumably fetch Poppy. They all waited to tense silence. Tora didn’t leave his gun in his car this time, just in case things got ugly.   
After a few agonizing minutes later, Scharch led Poppy into the room. Her eyes went wide when she spotted Tora, and seeing her tears almost broke his heart. She otherwise looked unhurt.   
“The notebook,” Vincent commanded again. Tora handed it over, fighting the urge to run to Poppy. She cried silently by Scharch, and Tora could feel her eyes on him.   
Here’s the fun part. And it was all based on Goliath’s theory that Vincent would still be in his study, and that his fireplace would be roaring.   
Goliath was right.   
When he wasn’t injured, Goliath’s speed rivaled that of Tora’s. Injured, he was a bit clumsy. But the brother were still fast.   
Goliath rolled, kicking in Martin’s knee the wrong way. The older man shouted, fumbling for his gun, which clattered across the floor and under a side table. Tora saw Scharch jump with surprise, and before he could think to unholster his own weapon, Tora was behind him, gun pressing into his skull.   
Goliath gained footing before Martin could recover, and pulled out the real notebook from his jacket, holding it over the fire.   
Everything was still in the room.   
Goliath was obviously exhausted, holding the notebook shakily over the fire.   
“What is this?” Vincent said darkly, tossing the fake notebook that was given to him on the ground.   
“Ultimatum,” Goliath breathed, his infamous smile spreading across his face.   
“I’ll give you my notebook, with all the proof and videos on all the other clans... if you let us all go. No more clan life, no one coming after us.”  
Vincent laughed, picking up his forgotten whiskey off the table, across from Goliath. Martin was still sitting. He must’ve damaged his leg really bad.   
“And why would I not come after you two?” Vincent chuckled. “Even if you kill us, everyone will know who did it.”  
Goliath clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Come on, Vince. You know me better than that. I always have a backup plan.” Goliath swallowed, lowering the notebook inches from the fire. Tora could see Vincent tense from here.   
“I will be keeping all of the Balthuman secrets myself,” Goliath went on. “They will always be safe. I won’t sell them or leak them. And in return, you get everything else. Just gotta let us three go.”  
“Why should I trust you?” Vincent growled. “Why not burn the whole book, and let it be done with?”  
“I have video files elsewhere,” Goliath shrugged. “Not all the extra bits, but definitely enough to get everyone in trouble. I will also send those to you. And you get all of it. All you have to do is let us walk out.”  
Tora could see Poppy shaking from where Scharch was holding her wrists. Scharch himself was eerily calm. At this moment, it was a battle between Goliath and Vincent.   
“Otherwise, Tora can kill all of you in here.” Goliath shrugged. “I don’t care either way, really.”  
Tora could see that Vincent was struggling with the decision.   
Let the notebook get torched and everything went back to normal, besides the three of them dying here and now.   
Or, take the notebook, use it as leverage or sell its contents for large sums of money, but not getting revenge on those who made him make the decision. Vincent’s biggest turn on was when he got revenge, so it was a hard choice for him.   
Goliath wiggled the book over the fire. “Come on, Vinny. I know you want it. I can see it.” His bro raised his eyebrow. “I’m really surprised this is such a hard decision. Soooo many rival clan secrets. And you lose, what, one fuckin’ body guard?”  
When Goliath said it like that... choice seemed pretty obvious.   
“Let go of her,” Tora commanded. When Scharch didn’t move, he pulled the hammer back till it clicked. With a grunt Scharch released Poppy, and Tora reached around and took Poppy by her shoulder. He led her slowly to the side, and Tora didn’t waver his aim at Scharch as they moved a few feet away.   
Poppy turned slowly towards Tora, but he couldn’t look down at her. Not yet. He pulled her into his side, arm around her shoulders. She was still shaking, but she buried her face into his side for a moment. Tora felt instantly better. At least he knew she was safe. He wouldn’t let anyone touch her again.   
“How will you send the recordings?” Vincent finally asked.   
“Easy,” Goliath assured. “I’ll send them to Gyu, and Gyu will give them to you.”  
“And when will they be sent.”  
“As soon as we’re out of Narin city,” Goliath smiled. “See? It’s so easy. It all benefits you. I know you’re smart, Vincent. It’s the smartest option. So just agree. Cause my hand it getting tired.”  
Vincent paused, and Goliath lowered the notebook even more. The flames started to lick at the corner, and it blackened and cracked. The older man stepped forward, and nodded slowly. “Fine. Fine, you win.”  
“That’s more like it.” Goliath tosses the book to Vincent, who caught it easily. “Damn, Vince. Really had to make sure I tired out my one good arm.”  
Goliath limped back over to his brother. “Let’s get the fuck outta here, bro.”  
Tora paused. This was a sensitive predicament they were in, but the need to blow Scharch’s head off was great. Tora didn’t lower his arm, and he could see the terrified excitement in Scharch’s eyes focused intently on him.   
“Tora?”  
He felt Poppy’s hand shaking against him again. He spared her a glance, and looking down into hear tear stained face broke his heart. Tora nodded, and made Goliath take Scharch’s pistol off of him before the exited the room.  
They quickly got to Tora’s car, where Poppy flung herself at him across the console.  
“Tora..” she cried, face buried into his neck.   
“I know, sweetheart,” Tora said, rubbing her back. “I know. Fuckers won’t ever touch you again.”  
“I hate to ruin the moment,” Goliath said stiffly from the back. “But we gotta move. I don’t fuckin trust them Balthuman’s.”  
“Hey, Bobby?” Tora asked, and she looked up at him, sniffling. “Wanna go to the beach with me?”


	24. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> <3

Erdene had helped pack up Poppy’s apartment, even had the occasional help from Jacob and Gil. Once Poppy had explained the situation, Erdene assured her that she would take care of everything. Sold her furniture, and mailed over boxes of all her important stuff. Luckily, it wasn’t too much. Poppy felt bad enough as is.   
Goliath shortly after leaving Narin city left them, which Tora didn’t seem upset about. Poppy would never really understand their relationship, and how Tora could be so indifferent towards his brother, but she didn’t press for information. It was one of those things she would have to learn to accept.   
Tora himself worked odd end jobs, from being a bodyguard to even some mechanic work. Poppy started working at a daycare, and was pleasantly surprised how much she fit in and liked her job. Wasn’t nearly as fun as working at the Narin Flower Shop, but for obvious reasons she couldn’t go back.   
Quincey would come visit often, saying how everything was boring now that Tora wasn’t around. And Quincey loved the beach, and all the people that flirted with him. Poppy wasn’t fully convinced that he didn’t come down whenever he needed to get laid.   
Poppy finished up pouring the drinks, and hurried down the stairs, feet hitting sand. It was a house Quincey had bought a few years ago as a summer home, and he was letting them stay there. It was gorgeous, and not too big.   
Tora was sitting on a towel, feet in the sand, and stared out to see. He was shirtless, with swim trunks on. They pretty much lived in their bathing suits on the days neither of them worked.   
“Here, Tora,” Poppy said, handing him the second glass.   
“Thanks, Poppylan,” he said, taking it as she sat down between his legs and leaned back against his chest. He placed a kiss on her head, his free arm wrapping lazily around her waist.   
“It’s going to be too cold to do this, soon,” Poppy pouted. Tora hummed, and she felt his thumb go up and down lazily on her side.   
“We can cuddle and shit,” Tora said, and nuzzled into her cheek. “Pull out the mattress.”  
“Isn’t that what started all this,” she laughed, putting her drink down in the sand and turning back to look at him, brow raised.   
“Naw, you’re the one who fuckin’ seduced me,” Tora huffed. “I was there just tying to watch the fuckin’ movie.”  
“What movie was it, Tora?”  
“Something about space?”  
Poppy laughed, and seeing her do so brought a smile to Tora’s face. She didn’t see if often, but Tora seemed to smile more lately. She knew why, but it was nice. He was the most stunning smile, and it was only reserved for her.   
Poppy leaned back against them, and they watched the waves lap at the sand and the sun slowly falling into the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this story might not have ended like everyone wanted to. Just know that at some point a mysterious body of a redhead appeared somewhere in Narin city, and they couldn’t identify the body it was so badly mangled <3
> 
> This is the first time I have ever finished a fanfiction, and this the most popular thing I have ever wrote. Thank you to everyone who had commented, left kudos, and enjoyed this story with me. I love this community, and love seeing you in the comment section on Webtoons and on the FB group.   
> I am already writing another Tora/Poppy fanfic, and I’m putting more thought and trying to have better writing in it. I did not expect for this story to be as well liked as it is, and it was honestly just a good way to ease my anxious waiting for new MPL chapters haha.   
> Anyhow, look for my new story ‘The Band ARES’ here soon. I’m still writing the second chapter, and I’ll wait till I have a few in before posting it. I move into my new house and start school in the next two days, so imma be so busy and stressed 😫 And good luck to all my fellow Americans and the hassle with this election. Hopefully this feel good ending helps ease your nerves 💕  
> See everyone soon!


End file.
